


Stolen

by robert_downey_jr



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hand Touching, Kissing, Shameless Smut, Smuff, Smut, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-16 17:08:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5833663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robert_downey_jr/pseuds/robert_downey_jr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dragonborn Cora has been betrayed by Mercer Frey, she realizes that she'll have to call on some friends to get her back to her son and the man she loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Requests

Cora had been non-stop bickering with Vex about some heist jobs in closer areas. The quarrels had been becoming more and more annoying until finally Brynjolf decided to put an end to it. Cora was still the top thief in the entire guild, flowing coin and contracts faster than her lock picking skills so he had to make sure to stay on her good side.

“Do you two ever shut up?” He asked leaning his body against some boxes, narrowing his eyes at the women. Cora’s bright blue eyes flickered over to him. Every time she looked at him, without failure his heart would pick up pace. How much longer was he to hide this small attraction to her?

“Your protégé here won’t stop bickering when I give her a contract over in Markarth.” Vex said narrowing her eyes at Cora.

“I bloody told you that I can’t go all the way out there anymore.”

“Not just because the Forsworn scare you?” Brynjolf teased. Cora turned her head toward him and grimaced. She had made her protests about going anywhere near Forsworn territory and made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t seeking to be eaten by the cannibals.

“I can’t make the travels out that far anymore. Not unless I intend to move from Whiterun.”

“Oh, someone’s all fancy because they have a house in Whiterun with their Thane status.” Vex said waggling her fingers. Cora’s nose crinkled up in anger. Even then Brynjolf found it adorable. The corners of his mouth perked up the slightest and when he felt a pair of eyes on him he dropped the look.

“Lass, you’ve turned down three jobs from Vex in the past fortnight. What’s causing you from not venturing that far out?”

It was a simple task which was one that she usually never turned down. But since the Guild had gotten a higher status within Skyrim and that everyone flocked to them for assistance she’d been more than dodgy. She never slept in the place she used to before she stumbled in to Riften and she didn’t spend as much time training with him as she used to.

Then it dawned on him that she might have found someone to warm her bed. The thought sickened him immediately. It had only been a few months since she got the guild back on it’s feet, had she found someone in such a quick amount of time? His blood was beginning to boil with jealousy.

“I have a kid at home that has to be watched. I can’t abandon him after he just got comfortable being around me.”

Everyone in the entire area had gone dead silent. Did Brynjolf hear that correctly? Did this thief that continuously stole and ransacked people’s house have a CHILD at home? What kind of mead had he been drinking lately?

“You’ll have to forgive me, did I just hear you say that YOU, of all people, have a kid?” Vex asked, her face lit up with surprise.

“I just adopted him. The boy was sleeping in the stables in Solitude and he needed a home and I had one available.”

“Are you saying you actually come with a sense of…compassion?” Tonilia cut in, now fully interested in the squabbles.

Brynjolf had wondered when the last time he’d see everyone inside the Flagon completely flabbergasted and this time might have taken the cake. Cora played with her gloves for a quick second before turning back to Vex.

“So, do you have any Whiterun jobs or shall I go ask Delvin?” She said cocking an eyebrow.

“Cora, you’re aware that this isn’t some wounded bird that you can heal and then on its merry way. It’s a boy.” Vex said cautiously as if she was trying to avoid a blade at her throat.

“I think we can all give the lass some credit. She’s still been taking on more jobs than any of you lot have anyways.” Brynjolf argued. Cora’s head whipped to face him in surprise, he gave her a sly wink before she nodded.

“If you’re that worried about him being alone bring him to the Guild. Teach the boy to pick some locks and nab some gold from his mother’s purse.” Brynjolf stated before turning back around on his heels and leaving the Flagon. He tried to ignore the sense of relief that washed over him. The woman didn’t have anyone warming her bed (that he knew of) but instead she had a boy at home.

He walked through the cistern before going into the training room and leaning on some bushels of hay. He liked the silence for a few moments before Cora had walked in, waving a piece of paper in her hand with a smirk.

“Vex managed to hand me over a contract in Whiterun as did Delvin.” She said giving him a kind smile. He nodded at her but tried to not pay any attention as she walked towards him with lithe steps.

 “I…must thank you for helping me back there.”

 “It’s not a problem, lass. That’s what friends are for.” He said getting up, he attempted to walk out of the room but Cora struck out and caught his hand gently. He turned only half his body to look at her hands touching his and then from her arm to her face.

 “Just friends?” She asked, her ice cold eyes warming at their touches. Brynjolf held back every urge to pull her into his chest and kiss her right then but refrained. So, instead his other hand went over hers and tapped it lightly, giving her a smile before slowly turning out of the training center.

 


	2. Practice, Practice, Practice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf bonds with Blaise

He had felt her touch for a few weeks after that. It was like every nerve in his hand had come alive just by her fingers grazing across his knuckles and wrist. By the Eight, no one made him feel this way. He hadn’t felt like this in such a long time and to have it be his protégé? It was the most inconvenient of times. He couldn’t harbor feelings for her…especially the deep ones he had shoved so far down. 

Every time she walked into the cistern, her satchel heavy with stolen goods and a proud smirk on her face he nearly forgot that nearly a year ago she was just a woman that stumbled into Riften with no memory. Now she was one of the most dangerous and quickest thieves in Skyrim. Had he molded her into the perfect creation or had she done that all on her own? 

No doubt that her attitude and marksmanship had come from herself. He was mystified by her, she was always evolving and growing herself. So, no, he couldn’t have possibly molded her into the woman she is now. He did, however, help her grow and rise to her true potential. He was watching her from afar as Rune cracked jokes to get her to raise a smile. She leaned her back against a wall, her hood drawn forward covering those piercing eyes that he admired so much. 

Rune said something and there she cracked a smile. His heart sang in his ears as her body began to shake and a laugh came rumbling out of her mouth. Rune clapped his hands and laughed with her seeing that his joke had indeed broke the ice that was frozen in place on her face. By the Gods, was she beautiful, did she know that? Did anyone ever stare at her, kiss each part of her face and tell her how remarkably beautiful she is? 

Brynjolf looked to his hand where it still tingled. Every part of him wanted to hide her away from the rest of the world and make her feel the way he did when she touched him. But she was fire and he was a man that couldn’t be playing with it. Not when the stakes were too high and the guild had just come back onto it’s feet again. 

But did he ever want to erupt into flames when he was around her. 

His gawking and inner monologue left him spaced out until he noticed that Cora’s blue eyes were on his. Her face was unreadable but her eyes danced around his face from across the cistern. What was going through her head? Her words were still ringing in his head, were they just friends? Could he ever let himself be just friends with her? The attraction that he had for her ran too deeply to remain friends but he couldn’t pursue her. 

He had forbidden himself to do anything of the sort. Being with someone outside the guild was easy, quick and painless but courting someone inside the guild? That was a disaster bound to happen. He shook his head toward her, breaking their staring contest before going toward her. She had practically skipped halfway to meet him. He noticed Rune’s wandering eyes and felt the pang of jealousy in his chest. 

“Finish the last two contracts?” He asked, crossing his arms at her and narrowing his eyes. He kept his face blank and his posture not where it was leaning towards her. Cora nodded before jingling her coin purse that jumbled heavily. 

“Of course. I was in and out in seconds, like usual.” She said to him giving him a proud grin. 

“How’s the boy?” Brynjolf asked, the mention of him made her eyes widen just the slightest. She looked away before tucking a stray hair behind her ear and smiling to herself. 

“He’s good…he’s a bright boy. Quite the adventurer. I was told that he had gotten into the habit of climbing up trees and stealing dolls from little girls.” 

Brynjolf chuckled, shaking his head at the thought. “Takes after his mother, that child. Maybe you should bring him in to see what being a thief is really like.” 

“He has been begging me to bring him to the Guild. Maybe a trip won’t hurt.” 

“It’ll be good. It’s been quite dry around here since you’ve adopted the child everyone misses your presence.” His comment made her eyebrows shoot upwards with surprise. Which was instantly covered with a flirtatious smile and she batted her eyelashes. 

“Everyone misses me? Or just you?” She smirked, it was meant to sound playful but he detected the seriousness in her voice. She was trying to draw him out, trying to pull at the strings to his feelings that he bound up so tightly. 

“Lass, I know where you’re taking this and-“Brynjolf was cut off when the door to the Flagon opened and Delvin came strolling in with a huge smile that could probably strike fear into anyone. Upon seeing Cora he raised his hands and clapped them together. 

“Just the woman I was looking for! I’ve got a contract in Solitude that is asking for you take care of a…sensitive situation.” 

Cora raised a brow in suspicion before shrugging her shoulders. “If the coin is good, I’ll do whatever is needed of me. I have to travel that way for one of Mercer’s jobs.” Cora then turned to back to Brynjolf. 

“I’ll bring my boy in right before I set off to Solitude. Can you make sure that the child doesn’t end up in the prison during my absence?” The look she had casted on her face made her seem truly motherly. He didn’t know how to react to being chosen to take care of the boy. He knew that she meant it to everyone but she was specifically looking at him because she trusted no one else. 

“You have my word, lass.” He said nodding his head. Cora clapped her hands together and walked up to Delvin, waggling a finger at him as she walked past. 

“You owe me a strong drink for this, Delvin.” 

“After this you can get however many drinks you desire.” He grumbled walking after her. Brynjolf was left beside himself. How was he going to take care of a boy? There had never been a child inside the Guild in…ever. He rubbed the back of his neck. What did he just agree to? 

Sapphire walked up then, playfully jabbing him with her elbow. “Looks like you’ll be playing nanny, what a sight that’ll be.” She teased before throwing her head back and laughing. Byrnjolf’s shoulders dropped, by the Eight, what did he actually get himself into? 

~  
Cora had returned a few days later in the early morning with a boy clinging to her side. He was dressed head to toe in thick leathers and he was even armed with a fake sword at his side when they came into the cistern. Brynjolf had barely slept a wink, trying to hide anything that could ruin the child’s innocence. He stood in the middle of the cistern watching as Cora held the boy’s hand and led him to Brynjolf. 

“Blaise, I would like you to meet Brynjolf.” She said softly drawing the boy’s body out from behind her. Blaise was a small boy, maybe around the age of six to eight with short brown hair. Blaise poked his head to size up Brynjolf before fixing his posture. 

“Hello.” He said quickly, beginning to take in his surroundings. “So, you’re the famous Blaise.” Brynjolf said and that caught his attention. The boy raised an eyebrow and stepped forward to get a better look at him. 

“The Guild has heard about a mischevious young thief stealing some dolls. We could use another recruit.” Brynjolf said with a charming smile. The boy’s eyes widened in excitement before he began to tug at his mother’s arm and jump excitedly. 

“Oh, please let me join the guild, ma! I’ll be the best thief there is!” He practically shouted, dancing about her. Cora glared at Brynjolf who only just gave her a wink. Cora threw her head back and groaned before rolling it to Blaise that had hopeful eyes. 

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for Brynjolf to teach you the ropes-“ 

“THANKS, MA!” He yelled before attaching himself to Brynjolf’s side, still bouncing with joy. Cora sighed, shaking her head at Brynjolf before she gently grasped Blaise and kissed him on the forehead. He struggled from her affection and fixed his shirt once she let him go. 

“Ma, don’t embarrass me.” He said sticking out a tongue. Cora smirked before yanking him gently on the ear making him laugh. 

“I’ll be back in a few days, be on your best behavior or I’ll send the Dark Brotherhood after you, understand?” 

Blaise’s face paled and he nodded before adding, “Understood,” to his mother. Cora straightened herself out and nodded to Brynjolf. “Take good care of my boy.” With that she had nearly disappeared with a blink of an eye. 

Blaise circled the cistern with wide eyes, taking everything in before he looked over to where Mercer stood, pouring himself into the readings. He crinkled his nose, if the boy wasn’t adopted Brynjolf would have sworn that he was an exact replica of Cora. 

“Who’s that?” He asked, nose still crinkled. 

“That’s our Guildmaster, Mercer. He’s the one that gives your mum her jobs, lad.” Brynjolf said laying a hand on him and leading him toward the training room. Blaise’s eyes were still attached to Mercer as they left the cistern. 

“Ma was right when she said he looks mean.”   
Brynjolf cracked a smile as he led him into the training room where Niruin and Garthar practiced. Blaise watched in awe as Niruin shot an arrow and hit right in the bullseye. Garthar had turned upon their arrival and sheathed his blades. 

“Who’s this little guy?” He asked, Brynjolf became aware of Blaise’s grip tightening. Niruin shot another arrow before turning his body toward the two of them. 

“Shoulda known that you’d take them in early.” Niruin said giving the kid a charismatic smile. Brynjolf’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. 

“This is Cora’s boy. Blaise, this is Niruin and Garthar.” 

“Uh, hello.” He croaked out before trying to establish his bravery by stepping away from him and descending a hand out to Garthar. Garthar gave a laugh and shook his hand just as Niruin swept in and caught his hand to shake as well. 

“Suprising that the boy has manners considering who is mother is.” Garthar muttered above Blaise’s head. 

“Cora left me in charge of the lad until she returns from Solitude. Blaise will be sleeping in Cora’s bed and training with us.” 

“Can I interest you in some marksmanship training? Free of charge.” Niruin said, eyebrows nearly hitting his hairline in excitement. Garthar huffed at him before crouching at eye level to Blaise. 

“How about I teach you to fight in hand-to-hand combat?” 

“By the Eight, how about we start the boy off by teaching him to pick some locks? I’m sure Cora will castrate the both of you for teaching the boy how to kill.” 

“Not kill…just maim,” Niruin said with a shit-eating grin. Brynjolf wasn’t having it and it was clear as day on his face. The two thieves raised their hands up in surrender before giving Brynjolf the way to teach Blaise. When the two left the room Brynjolf led him to a small chest, nothing too complicated but just hard enough to peak his interest. 

They had spent an hour, fiddling with the lock and countless lock picks but it wasn’t until the chest popped open and there sat three gold pieces that he excitedly clapped his hands. 

“Nice job, lad! You’ll be as quick as your mother in no time.” He said clapping him on the back. Blaise lifted his chin with a proud smile on his face before looking at the coins in his hands. 

“Ma was right about you,” he nearly mumbled. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow to the boy. Blaise looked over and smiled sheepishly. 

“You’re as good as she says you are.” 

The comment made his heart leap into his throat. He looked back down to his hand, for a moment, he could feel where he thumb grazed his knuckles. Damn it all, this woman was testing his self-control...and she was slowly cutting the strings.


	3. Promises To Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora returns from Solitude and doesn't have the most pleasant of news.

Cora had come back exactly three days later. By that time Blaise had nearly mastered each lock difficulty and even swiped Delvin’s coin purse three time before the man had found him. He was a quick thief that excelled just as quickly as a dagger in the shadows. When Cora had come down from the Guild entrance Blaise was already running after her. 

Brynjolf sensed something was off, however. The look on her face told him more than he wanted to know. The look had vanished by the time Blaise had thrown himself around her waist and hugged her tightly. He was speaking faster than a bird flies when she finally kissed him on the forehead. 

“I brought you something back but do you think you deserve it?” She asked, holding a small satchel in her hands. Blaise swung his head over to him, his eyes pleading. The boy had been more than just good. He wasn’t expected a lad of his age to behave so well. 

“Aye. He deserves whatever you brought him back, lass.” Brynjolf said rubbing the side of his jaw. Cora raised her eyebrows and smiled at Blaise before she handed him the satchel. He dug his hand deep and pulled out a book and some cookies from the bag. 

“Wow! Thanks, ma! I’ll go start reading this right away!” 

Blaise ran to his mother’s bed and plopped himself on the bed, book already open on the first page. Cora waited until he was out of an ear shot before she came up to him. Her happy expression had vanished as she came up to Brynjolf with a sigh. 

“Talked to that Gulum-Ei. He’s a real piece of work.”   
He chuckled. “Gulum-Ei surpasses that phrase.” He waited for a small smile to appear on her face but he became aware of the unsettling look that haunted her clear blue eyes. 

“Where’s Mercer?” She asked. Brynjolf knocked his head back to where Mercer stood, stewing. That man hadn’t had a relaxed expression on his face in all the years he had known him. Mercer was either stewing or bubbling there was no middle ground between the only known emotions. Cora blew out some air and whistled to herself. 

“Wish me luck. He’s not going to be pleased about this information.” She sighed before making her way toward him. He watched closely, her posture was straightened…stressed. He could read her better than anyone in this damn place and he knew that her last mission hadn’t proved fruitful. 

He stepped out of the center of the cistern and went to over where Blaise was talking with Delvin. He nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Since when did Delvin take a shining to children? And since when did he take up an interest in the child? 

Brynjolf approached as Delvin handed him a book. He recognized the book’s blue leathering and stitching. He was handing the child a copy of his book whether it was for Delvin teaching the child about the Guild or just trying to make profits was to be seen. 

“These are the marks my ma looks for whenever we’re in town?” 

“Right. So, whenever your ma isn’t home and you’re looking to nab some quick coin look for some shadowmarks around your house. Better to be hiding from trouble than to be in the thick of it, yeah?” 

Blaise looked over the book and gave him a nod. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow to Delvin. Delvin stood up and gave a shrug before he gently patted him on the arm. Blaise looked up once Brynjolf had arrived and waved the book around as if he was the true High King himself. 

“One of the boys already, lad?” He asked. 

“Brynjolf! Delvin gave me a book all about shadowmarks and thief caches! I can’t wait to go back to Whiterun to go find them!” 

Brynjolf chuckled and leaned himself against the changing board. He was afraid to admit that he’d miss the boy’s presence in the guild. First time someone brought in a child and he didn’t disappoint. Cora hadn’t been lying when she said the boy was smart. 

Cora appeared casting a look to Brynjolf that made his skin break out in goosebumps. Blaise sat up and off the bed, books in his arms as he handed her his new book. Upon investigating it Cora rolled her eyes and grinned. 

“Get this from Delvin?” She asked where Blaise simply nodded. She gave him a warm smile before her face crumpled and she leaned down to see him at eye level. She gave a sigh and put her hands over his arms. 

“Blaise, we have to go back home now but I’m afraid that I have another job waiting for me once we return to Whiterun. I’m putting Lydia in charge of you until I return.” 

Brynjolf’s eyebrows raised. Mercer usually told him of where he’d send Cora on missions and to have him not clear it with him…made him suspicious. Blaise’s smile faltered and he gave her an angry look. 

“Why do you always leave, ma? I just want you to stay home for a few days!” He almost yelled at her. Cora’s eyes shifted to where she was giving him a look that made all his arguments die on his lips. 

“Blaise, you know that I’m trying to provide for you. I promise that once this job is over I’ll come home and spend time with you. We’ll even go to the Winter Solstice festival.” 

That made Blaise’s eyes shoot up like a falling star. Cora hugged him tightly before she stood up and faced Brynjolf. Blaise let his grip of Cora go before he went running after Niruin, shouting all about the new books he got. 

“What’s this about you going? I wasn’t told about any of these missions, lass.” 

Cora sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Apparently some old enemy has popped up and is at fault for the Guild’s fall. I’m traveling with Mercer to Snow Veil Sanctum.” 

“Snow Veil? The only person that I can think of hiding there is…” Brynjolf’s words traveled off. He realized that Karliah had been the enemy. He muttered words in a language that 

Cora didn’t understand and turned his head back to look at her. 

“You need to be cautious there, lass. That place will be crawling with undead and traps. Not to mention that Karliah is dangerous and treacherous.” He said moving toward her. 

Cora chewed on the inside of her lip and shrugged. 

“Hey, I was trained by the best. I’ll be fine.” She said giving him a comforting smile. Cora noticed how close Brynjolf had come to her and she stepped forward. He watched as she slowly laid a hand on his crossed arms and looked up to him. 

“No need for your worrying.” She said, nearly whispering at him. Brynjolf felt some of the strings to his self-control snap. He leaned in further, arms moving away from his chest where he laid one hand against her face. She melted into his touch and opened her eyes to stare up at him. 

“I’ll always worry about you.” He murmured. Just in that moment, he chose to forget about everything. To forget himself distanced from her, forgetting that there was a divide between them that kept them apart. Instead, he focused on feeling her and feeling the tingles run up his spine and down to his toes. 

“MA!” 

Blaise screamed making them jump apart from each other. Blaise came running out with a bow and his very own empty quiver. Cora’s eyes turned to stone and then fire once she saw the weapons. Brynjolf groaned and knocked his head against the changing board. 

“By the Eight! What in Talos is that you’re holding? NO.” She barked at him. 

Blaise stopped in his tracks and stuck out his lip while giving her a sad look. Brynjolf turned to see Niruin creeping out of the training room. When the two made eye contact he shifted his eyes to now where Cora was glaring daggers at him. 

“NIRUIN.” She said before taking off after him. Niruin bolted toward the exit and Brynjolf gently grasped the boy and shielded his eyes that came from the beating that Cora was serving out on the dark elf.


	4. Objectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora comes face to face with death from Mercer's treachery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so surprised that you guys love this! Thank you for all the lovely comments! <3

Join the Thieves Guild, it’ll be better than kissing the Jarl’s backside. Cora thought to herself as she fought through undead and avoided deathly traps. She despised doing anything that got her hands dirty which is why she was a thief. In and out in a flash and no other people were hurt. But here she was, in a tomb full of shit that could clearly kill her. 

She had been halfway inside her own head and halfway trying to listen to Mercer rambling. To tell the truth, she would have been more content with silence. She was still irked that she was dragged away from Blaise and left things with Brynjolf on unsteady foundation. 

Cora wove her way through, testing each trap and avoiding waking the dead. She still managed to make her pockets full of goods that were spread throughout the cairn but it didn’t ease the pain of knowing that Blaise was stuck with Lydia…again. 

Part of her wanted to let him stay in the Guild but that was a disaster waiting to happen. For multiple reasons. She wanted Blaise to learn how to be a regular kid since he had already been sleeping in stables after his parents had died. If she was to let him stay any longer her fears of him becoming a guild member would become real. 

She had to listen to Delvin complain in her ear for nearly two hours after she’d returned from Solitude. Did that man ever stop complaining to her? She already knew the answer to that question, it was a no. Why Mercer chose HER to help him find this Karliah was beyond her. Sure, she had become one hell of a thief and most admired her skills in the guild but she was absolutely horrible at killing the undead. 

She was a trained marksman and skilled with her blades but if a horde came at her she’d rather disappear than stand and fight. Her mind was still foggy on how she naturally connected with the bow. She kept a mild balance between keeping hidden and picking off the undead with her bow whilst Mercer went in with swords glimmering. 

Why she even bothered to follow him into this cesspit escaped her. She’d rather be sharing an ale with Delvin and flirting with Brynjolf. The thought of him immediately made her touch the cheek that he had touched two days ago. She could have sworn that his touch had nearly made her turn into a pile of ash. 

She had been obvious to her attraction to Brynjolf. It was clear from the first day that she stumbled into him. There was a connection…a tie that tethered her to him. She felt something that felt so much more. The thought of not seeing him longer than a week made her blood boil. She had been mentally cursing Mercer for dragging her with him. 

It should be an honor to accompany him, right? She didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. He had been dodgy and acting shady from the first time Brynjolf brought her to him. The way he looked at her gave her a creeping suspicion that there wasn’t something right about him. Of course that could be paranoia she always had. 

Nonetheless, she just wished that she had enough time to throw Brynjolf around demanding on what they were. If it weren’t for Mercer, she would have had enough time to throttle the bastard. The way he spoke and touched her yesterday solidified her belief that he cared for her. She just wished that the guild wasn’t the only thing separating them. 

They had finally broken through the last door. She had barely managed to play off her absorbing another shout from the word wall from Mercer. She had to sneakily hide the blood that trickled down her nose afterwards though. Something in her gut told her that he wouldn’t take it kindly that his best thief was Dragonborn. 

When they had entered the burial tomb she had heard the sound of a bow string groan and then the sound of an arrow flying. However, she wasn’t prepared when the arrow struck through her and she had hit the ground. She lost all control of her body, paralyzed against the cold stone floor. Mercer had simply side-stepped around her body. She could move her eyes only slightly, each time she tried to move her body screamed in pain. 

She watched as Mercer stepped up and a woman came forth into the light. She was small and adorned in thick armor that resembled her own. A bow glimmered on her back and Cora made the connection that she was definitely the marksman. Their words were slurring together and she was losing her grip to consciousness. 

She threatened Mercer in her head to help scrape her off the ground after this. She couldn’t even move her head to see where the arrow had struck her. She had no feeling of any part of her body, Talos help her. The only thing she could feel was the fear trickling its way into her.

It wasn’t until that Mercer readied his blade and Karliah had vanished into thin air that she finally managed to croak out a grunt. Mercer raised an eyebrow, as if he was surprised she had survived. A smile cracked across his face as he came toward her body. Slow, lithe steps that revealed that this was not the man she believed he was to be. 

Mercer bent over and grasped her by the hair, lifting her face up to his. She gritted her teeth as he leaned in close to her face. She wished she was able to grasp her blades. What would she have to do to find out what scream he’d make once she’d stabbed him in the chest?

Mercer lifted a dagger to her face, rising it over her face. “I wonder what kind of poison Karliah used?” He pondered, her hair still in his fist. She was imagining fifty ways to kill him and with each second that passed they became more brutal and painful. Mercer’s eyes traveled from her face to her body, her skin would have erupted in goosebumps from just that look alone. 

He reached down with his dagger still in hand and touched something. She heard a twisting noise then felt her torso tug forward and back. Mercer quirked a brow. Cora closed her eyes realizing that he had been tugging on the arrow that was stuck somewhere in her body. 

“Interesting. It’s a strong poison. Good thing she took you out first. You would have been tricky to kill.” She looked up with him, her blue eyes blazing with anger. She was forced to hear Mercer’s own plot to kill her earlier but history repeated herself and she became Mercer’s next victim. Was she supposed to be surprised that the dodgy, shady piece of shit of a man was a traitor and murderer? 

Damn it all, why didn’t she listen to her gut? Why did she agree to this without taking a moment and trust the paranoia? She should have asked Brynjolf to come with her. It took her seconds to realize that if Brynjolf was here he would be dead too. Crippling fear ran through her. Mara protect her, she was going to die in here. She could feel it like a dull, sawing motion as her trickling fear burst open the flood gates. 

“Son of a bitch.” She hissed through gritted teeth. 

“I’ll send your regards to Brynjolf.” Mercer said, still holding her up by her hair. He gave her a smirk that nearly nearly made her eyes burst into flames. She wanted to use the Thu'um but her tongue was thick and her mouth was beginning to foam with her saliva. It gave her an idea, she didn't have enough strength to shout but she did have enough energy to collect that spit. She may had been paralyzed from the neck down but that didn’t stop her from spitting right into Mercer’s face. 

Mercer let out a disgusted grunt and wiped the spit off his face. In one fluid motion and racked the blade down her face. Cora let out a scream of pain, she most definitely felt that of all things. He dropped her head to the ground making her turn on her side. Cora felt the blood beginning to fall from her cheeks to the floor. The pain was horrendous which told her that he’d cut deep. 

She gave a groan and looked up at him with a clenched jaw. His blade glimmering in the light above him. She was going to die here. She wanted to scream and cry but she knew couldn’t cry, she couldn’t think of the son she had at home, she couldn’t think of how he would never know what became of her and that her body was going to be left rotting in some ancient tomb. That's what Mercer wanted. He wanted to see her cry, to see her beg for mercy. 

She'd rather die than give into that. 

She didn't dare bring herself to think of Brynjolf. He was going to believe that she betrayed him…used him as an advantage all because of some greedy man. She would have her revenge even if that meant striking a deal with some Daedra along the way. This man was to die by her hand alone. She swore it to herself as her blood spilled onto the icy floor. Cora closed her eyes just as he drove the blade through her. She let out a breath before the world slipped beneath her. 

~

It was slow at first like her body was continuously being electrocuted. The zings and tingles started from her toes, to her ankle, then her legs and the continued upwards until she felt a burning sensation in her side. Then it felt like the world itself had crushed on her chest because she became aware of everything at once. 

She became aware of the chirping birds in the trees, the freezing bitter wind biting at her face and then the agony in her side. Cora’s eyes snapped open and she stared up at the grey sky. She heaved a gasp before jumping to her feet. The world dipped beneath her feet and she lost her balance, throwing a hand out in the air to catch herself. A hand caught out in the blur and steadied her upright. 

“Easy! Don’t get up so quickly. How are you feeling?” She heard a voice quietly say. Cora’s eyes adjusted after a few blinks, slowly seeing the blurry figure in front of clear and then shape out. She shook her head before looking into the eyes of a dark elf in front of her. She was adorned with armor that looked exactly like the Thieves Guild armor only more holes and stitching around it. 

Cora recognized the bow before the woman. Confusion had washed over her fuzzy brain. She was the woman that Mercer warned her about…

“Hold on…you shot me!” She hissed out just as a gust of cold wind surged up and lashed at her. A shiver racked through her body. The wound in her side howled in pain. 

“No. I saved your life. My arrow was dipped in a unique paralytic poison. It slowed your heart and kept you from bleeding out.” She sighed, blinking her dark eyes at her. “Had I intended to leave you we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” 

“Why even save me then?” Cora groaned, balling her hands into fists. She remembered the arrow and then Mercer. Anger coursed through her veins like a wildfire. She was going to kill Mercer for his betrayal. 

“My original intention was to use that arrow on Mercer. But I didn’t have a clear shot. I made a split second decision to get you out of the way and it prevented your death.” 

“You should have killed Mercer instead.” Cora ground out. Half of that was a lie but anger was the only thing fueling her now. How long had she been out here? How long was she out? What did Mercer go tell the guild? Her heart ached when Brynjolf popped into her head. 

She heard Karliah explain herself about the poison, her hope of capturing Mercer and exposing him to the Guild. Cora only paid enough attention to strike a deal with Karliah to expose Mercer and figure out how to decode Gallus’s journal. 

Karliah mentioned Ethnir and then a deal was struck. Find Ethnir and find the answers in Gallus’s journals. She should have been less trusting and more cautious but the woman saved her life and patched her up when no one else was going to. If it weren't for her there wouldn't be a deal to be made. Besides the obvious of the things she heard about Karliah there was something about her that seemed...trustworthy. Nothing compared to what she felt for Mercer. Cora knew that this woman was to be trusted. 

It was a risky deal and she was most definitely throwing herself back into danger but she was still alive. She was going to have to fight to bring Mercer down and expose his lies to the guild. She was going to fight for Blaise...for the guild and for the man that she needed to return back to. 

Cora couldn’t stop herself when asking about Nightingales and when she was informed she was just more than intrigued. The two separated ways and Cora downed her extra healing potions, groaning in pain as the wound healed.

Her heart was screaming to flee to Whiterun and hold Blaise in her arms. Then to run as fast as she could to Riften and try to clear things. But if there was one thing--other than being a treacherous snake-- that Mercer was good at it was persuasion. She hated the bastard more than anything in her life. She touched her face, the wound still stung but it was definitely going to scar. 

She had to travel to Winterhold, that was two days on foot and then talk to Ethnir. Cora hoped that Blaise still assumed that she was on her mission and that she’d come home soon. She didn’t notice she was crying until a sob came out of her mouth. Her boy…her boy. She was so close to abandoning him. She had come so close of losing everything by just making a mistake of following Mercer's orders. 

And now she faced the high possibility of Brynjolf hating her. Her stomach twisted in disgust of thinking of all the lies Mercer had said to keep suspicion away from him. The guild was her family and they remained loyal to each other. Once she came back it was going to take a lot of persuasion (and some threats) for them to see that Mercer was in the wrong. She needed to clear her name. Nonetheless, the weight of knowing that Mercer out there was hating her was a pain that was stung worse than any wound on her body.

Cora stood, she stopped herself from crying and wiped her tears away. She turned towards Winterhold, taking the anger and hatred she used that as a cloak and surrounded herself with it. Then from that she made a shield. She was going to come out of this alive. Cora took a steady breath as she began trekking her way onward. She had one objective and it was crystal clear. 

Kill Mercer Frey.


	5. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guild is told about Cora's death but yet there are inconsistencies about her death. Brynjolf makes a split second decision.

It was like feeling a dagger slice you from the stomach to your heart. Pinpricks, that’s what he could feel all over his body. He felt like someone had stabbed him all over the body with thorns and that every movement was searing pain. Mercer stood in the middle of the cistern as he told everyone of Cora’s treachery.

He couldn’t believe—he just couldn’t. Was that why she seemed so off about the job with him? Was her purpose to become Guild Master? By Asmir’s beard, his hands shook and he clenched them into fists. This wasn’t possible…it couldn’t be possible. 

“Where is she now?” Vex answered, voice rough and angry. 

“Dead.” Mercer said with a groan as he went back to his desk. Brynjolf’s first thought was to punch Mercer for saying it so casually. As if Cora was some rabid beast he took care of. He was sick and he couldn’t tell if it was from Mercer’s uncaring attitude or Cora’s betrayal. 

Brynjolf observed everyone’s looks of shock, betrayal and then denial. They couldn’t believe it either. Cora had everyone’s respect and trust within this guild and to betray them like this—it was inconceivable. 

Amongst the sea of faces, he spotted Rune’s. Rune had one hand over his jaw deep in thought but he was shaking his head. He could see Rune’s disbelief and Rune moved through Sapphire and Delvin. 

“Why would she spend all this time here just to betray you?” He asked, heads turned toward Mercer. 

“She’s working with Karliah! That elf persuaded her made her crazy. She lured me there to have Karliah kill me and when she failed her job I had to kill her.”

Silence filled the room. 

Mercer adjusted his armor and whipped his head back to Rune. “Do you have any more questions about my trust to the guild or are you done?” He nearly growled at him. 

The way Mercer bit at Rune made a jolt of pain shoot through Brynjolf’s chest. He could barely get his head wrapped around that Cora’s body lay at the bottom of some abandoned cairn with no way of getting to it. Karliah still roamed free after all of it too. 

That woman was slippery and evasive. There was no way he could go back there and give her some sort of burial…not like he wanted to. Or like he could handle it. If he saw her corpse, seeing the truth it would be too much. 

Everyone dispersed from the center of the cistern and the room stayed quiet. Was it from the shock? Or were they all in mourning for their fallen comrade? Brynjolf turned around and went towards the training room. He had to think—had to have some sort of space to breathe and control himself. 

Rune caught up with him and touched Brynjolf’s arm. 

“Brynjolf, you don’t actually believe him, do you? Do you think Cora is actually capable of doing such a thing?” 

Part of him didn’t believe she was but what was to prove him otherwise? What would Rune care about her anyways? He should hate her like everyone else in this damned place. He should hate her to his core and spit at the mention of her name. 

“It’s not like Cora can come and clear her name, Rune.” Brynjolf said. He suddenly became aware of how hostile and cynical his words sounded. 

“You knew her better than anyone else here!” 

“Apparently not as well as I thought.” 

“But you admit it! She was closer to you than anyone else, Brynjolf.” 

“Damn it, Rune! If you’re so resolute about this then why don’t you go get her corpse off the ground of the sanctum? You took a shining her to her better than anyone else here!” He yelled. 

The minute the words had come out of his mouth, he had regretted every word. He regretted the hostility towards Rune and he regretted saying things about Cora. He couldn’t easily just hate her not after everything, not even the connection he had with her. He just couldn’t. 

Rune didn’t say anything, instead he turned and walked out leaving Brynjolf to himself. By the Eight, what had he done? What had Cora done? What could have driven her to do this to the Guild? To HIM? After what they had all been through after spending all that time with Blaise…

Blaise.

Brynjolf’s body went. The boy was without parents, again. There was a housecarl that watched him but she couldn’t take custody. He shook his head to himself. He had to go get Blaise he had to go see him. He nearly ran out of the training center. 

He stormed out of the cistern and then made his way out from the guild. He didn’t leave any word when he left through the Flagon. He did take notice to Delvin pouring drinks back and Vex consoling him. His mind was too busy worrying about the boy that expected his mother to come home when in reality she never was. 

He rode his horse as fast as he could towards Whiterun. He ignored every pinprick he felt along the way but his mind was replaying every moment with Cora. His heart didn’t want to believe it but Mercer said everything was true. He believed Mercer for longer than he knew Cora. 

She had wormed her way into his heart and it sickened him. She used him…he was some toy to play with before she decided to strike the killing blow on Mercer. She used everyone to get the advantage and she did well. They all played like little puppets and it was a matter of time before she cut the strings. 

Was Blaise part of that act? Had she just used the boy to warm everyone and keep them distracted so she could get her plans together? His heart ached in his chest. He refused to believe that. Cora could have tried to kill Mercer in cold blood but something told him that she loved that boy. There was truth in her voice and kindness to her eyes whenever she saw Blaise. 

Not even the best thieves or liars could fake it that well. 

Brynjolf had climbed over the wall of Whiterun, blending in to the darkness as he hopped into the village. He looked for marks on any house door. He knew if that boy was smart he’d had already carved a safe house shadowmark into the wood.

His inkling was right and he touched the newly carved wood of a home just by the main gate. He unlocked the door swiftly and crouched in. A fire crackled in front of him and he waited for any sort of noise before he stepped another foot. 

He had remembered the housecarl, Lydia was her name. He heard a bed creak above him before snoring rang through the small home. Brynjolf snuck around the fireplace and the furniture and heard Blaise’s snoring as he approached. 

Blaise slept in his bed peacefully, a book on his chest. It rose and fell to his steady breathing. Brynjolf stood and bent over the bed. He almost had a moment of where he couldn’t do this. Where he couldn’t wake the boy in the middle of the night and then take him all the way back to Riften and claim some sort of ownership on him. 

What would he tell Blaise of his mother? What could he possibly say or do that could soothe the pain this boy was about to have? He felt another pang in his chest. What was it? Was he having problems with his chest? He ignored it before gently lifting Blaise off his bed and carrying him out the home. 

Blaise woke up two minutes later when the cod air rushed on him. He opened his eyes and looked up at Brynjolf with confusion and exhaustion still written on his face. 

“Brynjolf? What are you doing? Where are we going?” Blaise asked. He sighed and set the boy down in front of him, out of sight from the patrolling guardsmen. He didn’t have the time or the emotional stability to explain to him about Cora. So, he said the first thing that came into his head. 

“I’m taking you back with me to the Guild so you can become a real thief.” 

Blaise’s eyes lit up. “Just like ma?” He asked, his voice thick with sleep. 

Another sting echoed in his chest. He swallowed thickly and nodded. Blaise wrapped his arms around Brynjolf. “Just like your ma.” He whispered. 

As he carried him back out and over the gates he realized that the agony in his chest hadn’t been from any sickness. 

It was from heartbreak.


	6. Haste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gallus's journal is decoded and Karliah reveals more than Cora could have ever believed.

Cora’s head broke out of the water at the base of the waterfall. She gulped down heaps of air before swiftly pressing her body against some rocks. Ice cold water splashed onto her face and she steadied her breathing as nearly fifteen guards came running down the steps. 

“FIND THAT THIEF!” She heard one guard call out and then saw the flames flicker across the rocks in front of her as they all separated. She waited a few moments longer, before slowly raising herself from the creek. She had barely escaped from Markarth and there was no way that she could have come down from where originally got in.

The museum was crawling with guards, Dwemer traps were active and half of the research area was up in flames. She had to do whatever was needed to get to that translation slab. It would have been easier if that damnable Calcelmo just obliged her offer to decode the journal. 

But life loved to be cruel, however. She stalked and hid her way to the top of the tower, avoiding city’s guardsmen. It wasn’t until she was at the higher levels that she picked of Calcelmo’s hired thugs off with her bow. When she got to his research lab and copied the translation slab the doors burst open with city guard crawling in. 

She had no other option but to run out and jump. Luckily for her the drop was long but it wasn’t high enough for her to get badly injured. She was dropped safely into the end of the waterfall and was now hiding from the guards. 

Cora slid out quietly as two guards checked a nearby Blacksmithy. They had been smart to check that since she leapt off the tower. But they weren’t smart enough to check the Warrens that she waded to after she pulled her head up. Water dripped from every part of armor she had on her but luckily the scribe that she had kept away was locked tight in a messenger vial that she snagged from Calcelmo’s laboratory. 

She finally pulled her legs over the edge and booked it, water sloshing around in her boots and her weapons clanking against her hips. There was a vine on the wall that was an easy exit but required more time and then there was the door that was being guarded but the rotation pulled them away from the main gate. 

She didn’t have enough time to make a choice before an arrow struck out and hit the rocks right next to her face. She twisted her body around to see the marksmen pulling back another bow. Cora made her decision in seconds and sprinted toward the vines. 

She leapt onto the gangly things and wove her way through them, hurling her body up just as the guards were alerted. She could hear them trying to ready their arrows or at least find her in the darkness. She blended in but it could be for only seconds before someone would find her. 

Cora grasped onto the ledge, she lifted one leg up and over the wall. She made a mistake of looking down on the other side. The drop wasn’t too far down but she should have taken the main gate instead. Her mental whining was cut short when an arrow pierced into her pauldrons. Cora was thrown back and over the other side of the wall. 

She fell into thick bushes with a grunt seeing the arrow lodged into the hardened leather. She was lucky enough that the arrow didn’t hit anywhere else. But she was going to have a thick bruise by the morning. Cora ripped the arrow out of her armor. She took what she could get before crawling out of the bushes and stealing a horse. 

She rode right back to Winterhold in a flurry. It had been nearly a month since she saw Blaise last. Since her fall inside the Sanctum it felt like she had become truly one with the shadows. She danced between them and only lingered in the light long enough to find what she was looking for. Could this had been from Nocturnal? She could only wonder. 

Since her dealing with Ethnir she had been non-stop with her missions. Whenever she had to break and sleep she’d toss and turn of dreaming of Blaise or Brynjolf. She ached to go back to the Guild that sadly no longer welcomed her or saw her as their own. 

Her head had been a huge mess of knots. Thoughts or wishes being mashed together into one giant ball that she kept on trying to untangle for the past few weeks. It was a pointless battle that she wouldn’t win. Ever since she’d been stirred on the wagon going to Helgen her mind was a constant mess. She had no inkling on who she was or what she was even doing on the border. 

From the moment she walked into Riften, feeling some sort of tether to it, it had been a place of serenity for her. It ached the wounds that remained open. She knew that whatever her mind as suppressing was something she didn’t want to remember. She had been spending so much time trying to find out who she was and what she needed that once she became part of the Thieves Guild it all fell apart. 

She felt at home with the Guild. Her friends and her son were her family and that was the only thing that kept her grounded. There were still huge parts of the puzzle that she was missing but finding home or somewhere she belonged was just one of the biggest piece. Thinking of Blaise only kept her awake. Karliah had forbid her to go anywhere near Whiterun. If Cora had managed to survive Mercer’s blade he would have hired thug all around her only home. 

It was another ambush and death that she was willing to avoid. Blaise was safe with Lydia, the thugs wouldn’t make any moves to Blaise and Lydia was more than capable of handling herself in combat. However, she nearly had to retrain herself from going to the gates to just see Blaise.   
Karliah hadn’t been lying when Cora fled through the countryside. She’d seen three groups of thugs on the outskirts of the town, patrolling and lying in wait. How long were they to be posted there for? Mercer was no fool, he knew there was something about Cora that screamed to run. It could have been her overall look or the fact that she just poured anger and fear. 

Mercer wasn’t a man that didn’t want mistakes being made. He was smart to post the guards in case she had come back. He didn’t expect her to survive, it was a cautionary tactic. She had tutted to herself, he was definitely going to hate being wrong. It was a terrible feeling and the punishment was the sweetest thing of all. 

Cora had come back into Winterhold on foot. She’d given the horse to a wandering stranger on the roads. She avoided incrimination at another Hold by handing the horse over. She had met Ethnir and Karliah in the basement with the decoding intact. 

It only took Ethnir mere minutes before he easily translated everything and handed the journal to Karliah. Enthir revealed Gallus’s suspicions of Mercer and Mercer’s thievery from   
the Guild treasury. Cora heard Karliah ask on anything about the Nighingales and upon his mention of the Twilight Sepulcher she hissed a curse. 

Enthir pushed to only have Karliah dodge his questions. She was appreciative of his time to which he seemed more than happy to help. Enthir extended a hand of help to Cora which she took gladly. She needed another person to align themselves with her. 

Cora turned to Karliah whose face was full of worry and concern. Cora’s brow furrowed. 

“We must hasten back to Riften before Mercer can do any more harm to the Guild.” 

Cora’s heart leapt into her throat. She was finally going to be able to go back to Riften and clear this mess. Then, her curiosity set in and she remembered Karliah’s distain about the Twilight Sepulcher. 

“Gallus’s journal mentioned the ‘Twilight Sepuchler’.” She asked knowing very well that Karliah could shoot down her questions as well but she had to at least try before she was to go throw herself back into the Guild. 

“You’ve come this far, so I see no harm in concealing it any longer.” Karliah said in a way that she was surprised Cora had survived this long. It wasn’t like she didn’t have her rage to fuel her feet into moving all the way across Skyrim and back or anything. 

“The Twilight Sepulcher is the temple to Nocturnal. It’s what the Nightingales are sworn to protect with their lives.” 

“Why does it require that type of protection?” Cora asked. 

“Everything that represents Nocturnal’s influence is contained within the walls of the Sepulcher. Now it seems Mercer’s broken his oath with Nocturnal and defiled the very thing he swore to protect.” 

“Surprising.” She hissed under her breath. Mercer and doing things he wasn’t supposed to wasn’t something to be surprised or offended over. “Thieves and temples. It just doesn’t add up.” She said shaking her head. It didn’t, nothing in the past three weeks did. 

“I felt the same way when Gallus first revealed these things to me. I think given time, you’ll understand what I mean.” 

Cora sighed, time she didn’t have. It had been as elusive as Karliah in this instance and she didn’t know how much patience she had left before her brain was going to explode. 

Cora rubbed the sides of her temples. The knots in her brain were getting worse. 

“I’d understand better if less mystery was involved.” She said opening her eyes to Karliah. 

“As a Nightingale, I’ve been sworn to secrecy regarding the Sepulcher. I know the Guild doesn’t do much to foster faith, but I’m going to have to ask that you continue to trust me.” 

Cora’s eyes rolled back into her head. Like giving trust was easy nowadays. Cora had a long scar on her face to prove that trusting someone wasn’t the easiest thing for her to do. 

But, as much as she hated herself for it, she felt trust with her. 

“Very well, we do it your way for now.” Cora said putting emphasis on the ‘for now’ because she was getting real tired of taking orders since that did nothing but get arrows fired at her, getting used as a sword pincushion and occasionally leaping off of towers. She felt like it was her time. “I’ll make for Riften and scout the situation; see if I can discover what Mercer’s up to. When you’re ready, meet me at the Ragged Flagon.” Karliah then took a deep breath and picked up something that was wrapped in cloth. 

“In the meantime, I wanted you to have this. It belonged to Gallus, but given the circumstances I think he’d approve.” 

Cora looked at her suspiciously before removing the flap and then seeing one beautiful sword glimmering from the candles. It practically shined with a red enchantment around it. Cora’s mouth nearly drooled. If there was one thing she loved more than gold, it was beautifully crafted weapons. 

“I’ll put it to good use.” She said taking the blade and weighing in her hand. 

“If this Guild isn’t willing to reason, you might have to.” Karliah said making Cora’s head snap to her. There was that possibility that she refused to believe. She saw the change in   
Cora’s face and looked to the ground. How was Cora to be expected to slaughter her own? 

Karliah turned and walked out with Enthir, leaving Cora to her horrendous thoughts and fears.


	7. Unwelcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora returns to the Guild and is greeted with less than happy guild members

Cora had been standing at the entrance of the Flagon for ten minutes, chewing on her bottom lip. Fear raced through her faster than any other emotion. The blade at her side felt too heavy to wear. Divines preserve her, she wasn’t going to fight her own comrades. She’d rather fall to their blades than fight against them. 

She closed her eyes. Brynjolf was behind that door and her heart was nearly aching with anticipation. She had to go into this with a clear head. She didn’t have room to deal with the ‘what if’s in this situation. Karliah was clearly in the right with this. Gallus’s journal was clear proof that Mercer was a snake. 

It only was the matter of having everyone else believe them. Or her. Cora straightened her posture and opened the door. She immediately met up with Karliah. The elf looked less than happy to have returned to her old home. Her hands clutched Gallus’s journal tightly. 

“I’m glad you’re here. People are starting to suspect on who I am.” 

“I’m ready. Let’s go.” Cora said, her hands touching the hilt of her blades. The blade that Karliah had given her nearly hummed every time she touched the sword. She felt somehow connected with it, like it held the answers she needed. It soothed the anxiety in her. 

“Keep your eyes open. I’m not sure what to expect when we enter the cistern.” Karliah warned. They began to walk slowly through the Flaggon. Cora sensed eyes on her back as she wove her way around toward the cistern. Dirge stood near the bar, his hands on his blades with eyes sending caution. 

As Cora passed she heard a flagon clatter to the floor. Instinctively, she whipped her head toward the direction of the sound. Tonilia stood, her brown eyes sending daggers toward Cora. It was Vekel that had dropped the flagon when he saw Cora walking through. The look in Tonila’s eyes made her stomach wrench. 

They turned down the hall to see Garthar and Niruin standing watch at the door, blades unsheathed. They shared looks to one another before they moved away from the door to let them pass. Cora gave both of them sympathetic looks and went in. 

Her eyes adjusted to the room first and then three figures focused in front of her. Vex was on the right, shrugging her arms and knees bent in a way to tell that she was prepared to strike. Delvin was on the left, looking less than thrilled to be inside the cistern but he still had his blades prepared. 

Then, there stood Brynjolf in the middle. His hands on his hips, his beard had grown out quite a bit and his eyes looked dark. Cora was directly behind Karliah as they became face to face with the three of them. Upon seeing Karliah, the three of them shared angry glances. 

Cora then took her place beside her. The light shined on her face and she watched as their faces paled. Brynjolf’s eyes widened but his stance didn’t change. Cora looked for the softness in his eyes that she had been dreaming about for weeks. His eyes hardened and he looked at her as if she was the dirt underneath his boots. Her heart yanked painfully. Mercer had successfully persuaded everyone here that she was the enemy. 

When they approached closer, Brynjolf unsheathed his weapons. His face hardened into a glare, his eyes nearly setting Cora ablaze. 

“You better have a damn good reason to be here with that murderer.” He growled. Goosebumps raised on her arms. There goes her idea of getting a welcoming hug from him. Brynjolf’s eyes burnt holes into her chest. There was no welcoming tone in his voice and there was no such thing of pleasantries. Not from Mercer could have said. 

Fury filled her. She suddenly became angry with the idea of how completely idiotic the Guild was for believing him. How many times had Cora been there for each member? How did they not think of her after all she’d done for this Guild? They tossed any thought of her out the door and closed it. She was beside Karliah in this. If she was the bad guy then she’d act like one. 

“Please, lower your weapons so we can speak. I have proof that you’ve all been misled!” Karliah pleaded, raising her hands in peace. Bryjolf didn’t even look at Cora, it was like she was nonexistent. Like her real body was still at the bottom of the cairn. He sheathed his blades. 

“No tricks, Karliah or I’ll cut you down where you stand.” Brynjolf warned. Delvin and Vex sheathed their weapons. Cora felt their eyes on her before they turned their gaze back to Karliah. 

“Now what’s this so-called proof you speak of?” Brynjolf asked, crossing his arms. 

“I have Gallus’s journal. I think you’ll find its contents disturbing.” Karliah gave Cora a swift motion to follow which she did. Cora watched as she handed the journal to Brynjolf. He nearly snatched it from her fingers. 

“Let me see.” He said opening the book. His eyes scanned the pages and his brows furrowed. His face crumpled and he continued to flip through the pages. 

“No, it…it can’t be. This can’t be true. I’ve known Mercer too long…” Brynjolf shook his head in disbelief. It wasn’t quite the face she wanted him to make. Cora’s eyes scanned the room. Where was that bastard? She should have run him through by now. 

“It’s true, Brynjolf. Every word. Mercer’s been stealing from the Guild for years, right under your noses.” 

Cora listened intently as Brynjolf whipped his head back to order Delvin to open the vault. Delvin protested and then asked a multitude of questions as they walked across the cistern. Karliah and Cora remained close to one another. Just in case there weren’t others that weren’t going to have the same patience Brynjolf did. 

Brynjolf explained everything to Vex and Delvin as they came up to the vault. Delvin rejected the idea of Mercer being able to open the vault without another key and Vex cut in   
saying that there was no way he could have picked it, not with their locks. Karliah shot both ideas down by mentioning that he didn’t need any sort of key. 

Delvin and Vex looked over at Karliah, stopping their process. Brynjolf barked at Delvin to hurry on with his key. She watched as Delvin used his key and Brynjolf went up to unlock it. The door swung open and then the yelling started. 

The vault was completely empty. Only a few weapons were left on the tables. Cora and Karliah shared a knowing look at one another. “Shocking.” She whispered to Karliah. The dark elf cracked a slight smile to her. 

Vex whipped out her blades and threw threats around faster than she could blink. Brynjolf ordered the two to go watch the Flagon for Mercer. Karliah sighed, shaking her head to herself before she went out into the cistern. 

Cora stood with Brynjolf in the room. She walked slowly, looking at each open chest that was cleaned out thoroughly. He had been quick to take everything. Cora cursed him under her breath and turned to Brynjolf. 

“Look, before I have you help track down Mercer I need to know everything Karliah told you. I mean everything.” 

“Oh, NOW you’ve acknowledged my existence. I’m flattered.” She said with a roll of her eyes. 

Cora hesitated for a moment. Where had this attitude been when she first entered the cistern? Where was the man that held his composure and was the genius she knew him to be? Why should she immediately give him all the information when he wanted her dead less than five minutes ago? 

She stared into the eyes of a stranger that resembled a man that she cared about. A fragment of the man that she dreamed about, fought for, was still in there. It was just a matter of trying to find it. Cora told him everything, about Mercer killing Gallus, Karliah’s connection to Honningbrew and Goldenglow and the Nightingales. 

Brynjolf shared the same disbelief she did when she first heard of it but he seemed more inclined to see the reality of things now. Brynjolf gave her the responsibility of going into   
Mercer’s to break into his place and find out his whereabouts. She wasn’t particularly thrilled to leave but since it was going into Mercer’s place and probably destroying everything he owed, how could she refuse something THAT tempting?

“Another mission, will I ever stay alive long enough to breathe?” She mumbled turning out of the vault. She walked into the center of the cistern before Brynjolf caught her hand making her turn. Her whole hand felt a zing of tingles run up her arm and she met his eyes. 

“I can’t lose anyone else to that madman again.” He said slowly. Cora raised an eyebrow to look at their hands once more. Brynjolf released her hand and rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth. He looked as if he was to say something, Cora hoped it was an apology. Since the bastard had been talking out of his arse since she’d walked in. 

“Lass,” he started but that’s where Cora lost all her train of thought. She saw a small figure poke around from the training room. Rune had appeared in front of him. Cora’s heart hammered in her chest. The small figure was adorned in Guild armor and had a hood drawn over his face. 

But Cora knew. 

She ran past Brynjolf and up to the small figure. Blaise’s face came into her view, his eyes lit up and a smile broke out across his face. Tears stung at her eyes as she fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Blaise. 

“Ma!” Blaise cried into the crook of her neck. Tears silently streamed out of Cora’s face as she hugged him tightly. She tried to steady her breathing as he cried into her arms. She stroked his hair and kissed him all over the face before bringing him in front of her. 

“Brynjolf told me that you went away for a long time and brought me here so he could teach me to become the greatest thief ever like you! Are you staying this time?” He said, sniffling through his tears. Cora wiped away his tears and smiled as she touched his cheeks. 

“Yes, yes. I’m staying and for good this time.” She said before kissing him on the forehead and hugging him again. Relief washed over her in tidal waves, each wave soothing and more relaxing than the last. He was safe and he was healthy and she hadn’t ever been so happy. 

It took them a few minutes to separate but when she did she hugged Rune tightly. She squeezed his arm and turned back to where Brynjolf was still standing in the center of the cistern. His face was unreadable, guarded. She took a deep breath and walked up to him. 

“I’ll go to Mercer’s but I want you to meet me somewhere tonight.” She said slowly. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow as Cora gave him directions to a camp that was just on the outskirts of the Hold. It was the closet place that she could think of and also the most remote of the time. 

“Alright, lass. I’ll meet you there tonight. Go catch up with your boy first.” He said giving her a slight smile. Cora’s face nearly crumpled before she turned back to Blaise. She ran up and caught him in her arms and spun him around. 

“I have a lot to tell you, Blaise! But first, why don’t we go get you a bow? I know Gelka might have one.” She said winking to the boy. Blaise jumped up and hugged her hips as she led him out of the cistern. Cora gave one more look to Brynjolf before exiting.


	8. Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora and Brynjolf have a talk

Cora stood in the darkness ten feet away from the spot that she was to meet Brynjolf at. She had been standing there for twenty minutes where Brynjolf had been there for a solid ten. She almost didn’t want to have a talk with him that didn’t have Karliah or six other guild members involved. Almost. But this conversation was long overdue and she had things to clear up. 

Brynjolf had lit a fire nearby giving him enough light to look for any sign of Cora. She’d become impressively good at blending into the darkness and silencing her footfalls. Her time in Calcelmo’s laboratory and finishing up in Mercer’s place had proved fruitful. She had taken out each hired thug with efficiency and silence. Maybe the Dark Brotherhood would applaud her for her talents. 

Once she had cleared out the bastard’s place she raided it until she found his basement and then wove through his maze to get to the damnable office. The traps were impressive but mundane. She’d seen better inside cairns that were built way longer than Mercer’s time. She expected trap doors and more poisoned arrows. 

She breezed through the bastard’s timed traps and used her shout to breeze past the sharpened pendulums. It was quick work and it took her less than five minutes to reach Mercer’s office. She snatched up everything (including that ugly bust that Delvin wanted). She still had the letter of his plans to go ‘finish up what he had started’. Why Mercer liked to be cryptic escaped her. 

The note held weight inside her pocket while she walked onto the path toward the meeting spot. Brynjolf looked withdrawn, inside his own mind. Maybe he was battling a war that not even she could help with. Cora hoped he was kicking himself for the way he behaved but she also felt bad if he was. She couldn’t pin the blame onto him for the way he acted when she returned. 

If it was she in the same situation she would have acted the same. He may have not acknowledged her like she was really there but how could she blame him? Mercer’s failure to follow through with killing her made her come back to make him bend in front of the Guild for his crimes. Brynjolf acted out in protection of the Guild. If only he had acted the same way once news of her demise had hit the winds. 

She stepped into the clearing, making her own presence known and making Brynjolf twist around to her. Cora noticed that his eyes lit up the second they steadied on her frame. Had he been trying to hide that? Or was this the time that they heal the wounds they inflicted on one another. 

“I’m surprised you showed up.” Brynjolf said, just barely making it loud enough to reach over a whisper. The fire crackled and twisted inside itself next to Cora. Her face had already become hot and it definitely wasn’t from the flames. 

“Would you expect me to stand you up?” She asked. 

“If I were you, I would have.” 

Cora’s eyes flickered up to him from her boots. His voice was sincere but under that was guilt. Cora clicked her tongue and tucked a black strand behind her ear. She wasn’t going to spend her time away from Blaise to just be wasting it by beating around the bush. 

“You took in Blaise.” She said moving her eyes toward the fire. 

“Aye.” 

“Why?” She asked, turning her gaze back to him. The look alone made him fix his posture and cross his arms. But she saw it. It was that familiar flicker of emotion in his eyes that she longed for. 

“I care for the boy…and I couldn’t just leave him behind.” 

“But with whatever Mercer told you-“ 

“It didn’t persuade me to leave him.” 

Cora nodded to him. She had made it very clear that after Blaise had told her all about his time with the Guild that he hadn’t come into any harm. Everyone in the Guild had given him food, bathed him and went out of their way to even teach the boy his lessons. He was healthy and happy from the few months she’d been apart from him. He’d become part of the Guild and that’s what made her relieved. 

“Nonetheless, I thank you for taking good care of him.” She murmured. 

“Lass…” Brynjolf said trailing off. 

The nickname made her skin break out in bumps and a shiver run down her spine. It was like listening to a siren’s melody each time he said it. Cora had believed that he’d never call her that again and maybe that’s what she was expecting. 

“I didn’t make you come all the way out here to thank you.” Cora said nearly cutting him off. 

She couldn’t bear it if he continued to talk like that. If he shared things that were too intimate, it would throw her whole world off balance. She couldn’t allow such things to be shared between them, not when the stakes were too high and lives were on the line. 

“What did you come here for?” He asked, approaching her slowly. 

Cora could hear every step he took even heard how unsteady his breathing was. Did she make him nervous? Or was it fear that made him unsteady? But once Brynjolf started to make his way towards her even Cora’s own heart pace kicked up. 

“We needed to talk.” Cora murmured, still standing her ground and keeping herself firm. She had to keep her confidence in check and she had to focus on the true danger. 

“About?” He murmured and then he was in front of her. The fire only illuminating part of his face but his breathing had gone steady and his eyes were staring into hers. Cora was losing her nerve and she was hating herself every second that ticked away without her actually saying anything. 

“I came to see if things with us—with you, were different.” She admitted aloud. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow but she felt his hands slide around her waist where they joined behind her back. An unsteady breath left her mouth against her own protests. 

“And now?” He whispered. 

The cold wind picked up around them as leaves swirled around their feet and then flew off. Not even that bitter breeze lessened the heat on her face or where Brynjolf dared to touch. The fire had nothing against the heat she felt between them. It was a matter of time before he would become the kindling to spark the forest fire. 

Cora’s inner mind begged to stay in the warmth of his arms and to melt in his embrace. By the Eight, every part of her was screaming to. She’d missed this. His touch, his voice, and the tingles that she felt every time they touched. It was the spark she needed to make the flames that kept her alive. He was that fire and she was foolish not to admit it. 

Brynjolf raised his arm, leaving a trail of fire along her body until he laid a hand gently across her face. Cora closed her eyes and felt his thumb stroke over the scar that marred her face. The very scar that reminded her of her duty to the Guild…to herself. 

“I’m so sorry, lass. Gods, I’m so sorry.” He whispered. 

Cora felt tears stinging her closed eyelids. She blinked them back and stepped out of his embrace. She opened them to see his hurt expression on his face. He still held her hand, the connection still running strongly through them. 

She wanted to go back into his arms and hold onto him tightly. But she had to draw the line. She had to walk back behind the line because she was breaching a point of no return and the last she needed to do was create more knots in the mess that Mercer had made. 

“I am too.” She whispered before blending herself back into the darkness.


	9. Worthy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf and Cora meet up with Karliah to make an interesting business deal.

Brynjolf had met up with Karliah after his conversation with Cora. Her words were continuously echoing into his mind. Questions filled his mind up nearly to the breaking point. Had he pushed her too far when he apologized? Or did he tumble right over the line that he had created all those months ago?

He’d seen her expression after he touched the scar that Mercer created. He saw the flicker of fear when she opened her eyes and disappeared. Would his apology ever be enough? Would anything between them ever stop? Months ago he’d told himself to never breach the line he created and now all he wanted to do is step over it.

Karliah had given him the information about Irkngthand but he already had known why Mercer would have flown there of all places. Brynjolf wanted Mercer to pay for what he did to the Guild but once he found out about Cora Brynjolf knew that the bastard needed to die. Mercer made it personal when he went after her.

He found Karliah touching a large stone. His foot snapping a branch made her twist her head to look at him. Upon his arrival she turned her body to face him and dipped her head in greetings. She’d always been the quiet type but since her reappearance to the Guild she’d been more than just quiet.

“Good thing you’re here. I met up with Cora before I got here, she’s putting Blaise to sleep. She’ll be arriving shortly.” She said calmly.

It was almost eerie how soft her voice was. He could swear that she could talk down a giant or a dragon by just saying three words to it. Maybe it’s what Gallus found so appealing. He nodded and took his place beside her.

This midnight meeting had been thrown together rather quickly upon word of where Mercer was hiding out. Karliah seemed to be a little frazzled once she learned this information but called the three of them together. Brynjolf felt like this day was never ending and it was a continuous uphill battle, one surprising fact after another.

“You know she’s probably the only person alive that’s just as dedicated to the Guild as you are.”

“I’m well aware of that, Karliah.”

“Are you also aware that every member has pledged their loyalty to her? Even when they believed she was a traitor. I could see the sympathy in their eyes.”

She was telling him information he’d known from MONTHS. It could only take someone with eyes and hearing to see that there wasn’t a person in that guild that didn’t pledge themselves to her. She swept in and earned everyone’s trust truthfully.

“Brynjolf, once Mercer is slain I believe that she’s more than eligible to become Guildmaster.”

“Preaching to the choir, yet again.” He said looking at her.

He’d come to that decision before Mercer’s infidelity. She was organized, trained and knew everyone well enough in that damn Guild. It would be foolish if he didn’t consider her a candidate to uphold the Guild. The woman had practically risen from the dead to come back and protect it.

Silence overtook them and Brynjolf found himself staring out into the lake. The only problem was that they were going to need to KILL Mercer before she was to be in the running for the job. If they even survived going into Irkngthand. The dwemer ruin was still active with dwemer constructs and traps that could kill someone in seconds. Not to mention that there was Falmer still lurking in every shadow beneath it.

How was Brynjolf actually going to survive that death trap? How was he going to be expected to take down Mercer? Yes, killing him would be easy but getting the slippery ass to stay still was the hard part. Mercer had years of thieving under his belt and the man was a Nightingale, no doubt. They were screwed three ways to Sundas.

“I stayed behind after my dealing with Mercer in Snow Veil.” Karliah said breaking the silence. Brynjolf turned his head.

“I should have fled but I didn’t. I watched in silence as Mercer played with Cora’s paralyzed body like she was some animal stuck in a trap-“

“Karliah, which is hardly something I want to hear-“He interjected. Why in the Nines would he want to listen to how Mercer tortured Cora? Why in the bloody Oblivion would he even want to know what he did? The scar that marked Cora’s face was a big enough reminder.

“Do you know why I stayed?” She asked, sounding more adamant. Brynjolf grumbled to himself before giving in to this small game of hers.

“Why?”

“Through Mercer’s torture she didn’t flinch once. No matter what he said, she never gave one sign of fear to him. She didn’t give him that satisfaction.”

“She’s a hard ass. I’ve known that about her for months.”” He said, keeping his face neutral. He still didn’t trust Karliah as far as he could through her but that was just years of not knowing the absolute truth. He was aching inside, though. He was hearing things that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“She stood up to Mercer. She looked death right in the eye and didn’t shake. But, the second that Mercer mentioned your name I could have sworn I saw that woman erupt in flames. She spit in his eye and cursed at him.”

Brynjolf’s face lit up in surprise. Why hadn’t Cora told him this? Why didn’t Karliah wait all this time to tell him now? Then, it dawned on him why Cora was pushing away. She did the same thing he did, she put her own wants and needs to the side to protect him. Karliah was an example of what happened if emotions had run too deep.

“Why tell me this, Karliah?”

She smiled slightly. “Because you care for her and she cares for you, deeply. Even when she allied with me, she was still holding on to you.”

Silence came back to them and Brynjolf was left with too many things to chew on. He wanted to applaud Cora for spitting in Mercer’s face but he just wanted to hold her. He wanted this whole thing to disappear so he could put everything behind them.

But Mercer had to pay. Mercer’s time was up and he had to atone for what he had done. Karliah wanted him to face justice of the Guild but that was no longer an option. With every minute that passed Merer was getting closer and closer to achieving his lifelong dream.

The wind swept through the trees, shaking leaves off their branches. Brynjolf had wondered how long it was going to take until winter would claim the lands. Winter in Riften could be brutal for the weary traveler or for poor folk in the town. The cold would freeze the lake, making it harder to fish. The land would be bitter and barren and crops would perish from it.

Brynjolf saw Cora appear beyond some trees and he straightened his posture. Karliah gave him a smug look and twisted her attention toward the giant stone that stood behind them. Cora adjusted the buckles on her gloves and walked up to him. Just by seeing her, Brynjolf’s stomach had begun doing tricks. How could she make him so nervous when she wasn’t even speaking?

“I’m glad you made it.” Karliah said to her.

Cora gave a nod and her pale eyes swept over to Brynjolf. That look alone could have made his blood go cold. He gave her a quick nod through the ice he was feeling inside his body.

“Let’s see what you have for us, Karliah.” Brynjolf grumbled.

Karliah gave him a withering stare and then told them about the Nightingales and how becoming one was the only way to defeat Mercer. She laid her hand over the smooth black stone, it hummed from her touch before rocks gave way to their left and a door was revealed.

“Nightingale Hall,” Karliah whispered.

“I think I’ve nearly hit my limit with all this mysterious, wouldn’t you say?” Cora asked Brynjolf.

“Honestly, I reached my limit as soon as you rose from the dead.” He said casting her a wink.

They wove through Nightingale Hall that was nothing but crumbled and whispered of memories that no longer held the same weight it used to. Karliah spoke of the Nightingales, Nocturnal and then the pact that she, Mercer and Gallus became part of.

He had never believed that the Nightingales were true. Brynjolf had even told Blaise of it to keep the boy on his toes. But to have it all be real…to be standing in place that he once believed to be nonexistent was incredible. What did he have to do with all of this? What was Karliah’s aim to have him here?

“What’s wrong, Brynjolf? I can almost hear your brow furrowing.” Karliah asked.

“I’m just trying to understand why I’m here, Karliah. I’m no priest, and I’m certainly not religious. Why pick me?” He asked.

“This isn’t about religion, Brynjolf. It’s business.”

 

That hushed any of Brynjolf’s protests to his situation. They descended further into the hall and then came into a clearing. His steps stuttered once he saw the ruins of the Hall. Beds lay askew by their left and tattered flags flapped against the wind that traveled through the holes. The place was no cistern or well-kept hideaway but it held more secrets than any prized chest.

 

He had barely begun to form words when Karliah pointed the way to the armor stones in the next room. Cora nearly raced toward the Nightingale stones. It seemed that someone was taking this a bit better than he was. His mind was yelling at him to pick up his feet and run for it.

 

However, all of that vanished from his mind once he remembered the look in Cora’s eyes at their meeting spot. He remembered the words that still rang in his head and he proceeded to follow with Karliah’s order. He came toward the stones and placed a hand over it, it warmed at his touched before sending a loud humming noise into the air.

 

A flash of light hit his eyes, making him blind for the fleetest of seconds. When his eyes had cleared and focused he saw that armor laid on the stone in front of him. He pursed his lips and thought how many times he’d have strange encounters with Cora.

 

He kept his eyes averted from Cora while he slid into the leathers, it clung to his body like a glove. The boots welcomed him and even muffled his steps. The armor felt like it was made just for him and nothing could compare at how well it fit. Cora had already dawned her armor and covered her face with the hood. Although, he could still see her pale eyes nearly glowing through the black armor.

Karliah was the last to change but she was swift and silent. It was only minutes later that she was already leading them into another hallway that lit their way. Brynjolf felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him.

“Okay, Karliah. We have these getups on…now what?” He was nearly itching for an answer.

“Now we proceed into the final step of becoming a Nightingale.”

Brynjolf’s eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling. Did he hear that correctly? Or did the Nightingale stone do something to his hearing?

“Woah, Karliah. I appreciate the armor but becoming a Nightingale was never discussed.”

Karliah’s eyes hardened at his objection. The look alone could have silenced a room of rowdy children but he stood firm. He had made no such agreement to be part of an initiation. He hadn’t stepped inside a temple or even made any notion to have faith in the Divines. How was he expected to follow through in the initiation?

“To hold any hope of defeating Mercer we must have Nocturnal at our backs. If he’s to accept you as one of her own, an agreement must be struck.”

“What sort of arrangement? I need to know the terms.”

Because if he was having to go devote himself to a higher being he’d like to weigh the pros and cons of it first. Brynjolf dared to look at Cora who had her arms crossed and her head down in thought. Was she thinking the same thing? Or had Karliah already explained this to her already?

“The terms are quiet simple, Brynjolf. Nocturnal will allow you to become a Nightingale and use your abilities for whatever you wish. And in return, both life and death, you must serve as a guardian of the Twilight Sepulcher.”

That’s what the downside of this was. It was either he go in Irkingthand blinded and most likely die there, or he become devoted to a priestess of the night. Plus, he’d be indebted to this priestess for the remainder of his life…and for all of his eternal one. Pleasant.

“Aye, there’s always a catch. But at this point, I suppose there isn’t much to lose. If it means the end of Mercer Frey, you can count me in.” He said.

He wasn’t completely persuaded or thrilled at this but it was better than nothing. And up until recently, all he had was a whole lot of nothing. This was the kind of thing he needed to give Mercer what he had coming to him for a long time in the making.

“What about you? Are you ready to transact the Oath with Nocturnal?” Karliah asked to Cora.

“Well, if you told me I was to become a Nightingale and enslave myself to the priestess of Night two months ago, I would have punched you.” Cora sighed, rubbing her temples. Karliah’s posture changed and she grasped Cora’s arm.

Brynjolf saw the two women stare at each other but nod quietly. Did they have some unspoken bond that he wasn’t aware of? It only took eyes to see the uneasiness that was between the three of them. It wasn’t like they had plenty of other options.

“Let’s get this over with.” She grumbled.

Karliah opened the gate and lead them through the initiation room. Brynjolf was immediately reminded of the cistern. Three pedestals connected to a large platform in the center of the room where the Nightingale shadow mark was branded into the stone. He would have been more comfortable if the room didn’t just pour fear and intimidation.

Karliah sent each of them to their own pedestal for her to start the Oath. His mind was reeling and his stomach was jumbling with nerves. He hadn’t been this nervous since he almost got caught stealing a 1000 gold portrait from some noble’s house. That was years ago and the fact that he could compare this moment to that one terrified him.

“I call upon you Lady Nocturnal, Queen of Merk and Empress of Shadow…hear my voice!”

Brynjolf stood in wait, disbelief was beginning to cloud his judgement. But before he could utter a witty remark a purple light flashed in front of his eyes.

“Ah, Karliah. I was wondered when I’d hear from you again. Lose something did we?”

Brynjolf could hear her voice echo in the room but he could also hear her voice in his head. It was as if her lips were pressed against his ears and she spoke to only him. Karliah bent forward on one knee and begged for forgiveness. His hair stood on end while she bargained with Nocturnal.

He tried not to focus on his hair standing on end, the chill that had run down his spine or even the way Nocturnal’s voice was in his ears. He didn’t dare look to Cora, but he did wonder what she was thinking during all of this. It was a short conversation before Nocturnal accepted Karliah’s offer and Karliah began speaking of the Oath.

He was too late to back out of it, to have an sort of last minute runaways. It wasn’t like he was going to since fear pinned his feet in place. Brynjolf turned his head and met eyes with Cora, he could see any emotion in her eyes but she gave him a small nod, easing his pains.

Nocturnal’s voice filled his head but her words were different from how she spoke to Karliah. Brynjolf was yanked forward by an invisible force. His palms slammed into the floor and he remained paralyzed in place. He felt a breeze crawl along his back and then touch his head.

_Haste, sentinel._

Words burned into his vision as the voice cooed into his mind. The words chanted over and over in his head until the world swayed beneath his body. His vision went black and he couldn’t hear the words that Nocturnal or Karliah spoke of. He could feel a cold sensation running through his legs and hips, it made fear race through his body.

Had Nocturnal disapproved of his worth? Had he failed to become a Nightingale? But his worries melted away once his vision began to return, the world stopped shaking beneath his palms and the ice in his blood had stopped. He heard Nocturnal’s voice once again and it was her saying goodbye before the purple orb she appeared as, disappeared inside itself.

The weight off his shoulders and back ceased and he nearly slumped forward into the stone. He slowly stood and looked to see Karliah and Cora doing the same. Brynjolf took gentle steps toward the platform but his legs felt like water and his bones like ice.

Karliah moved slowly but made it toward Brynjolf.

“That felt…odd.” He whispered.

“Nocturnal had granted each of us a boon of her choosing. It is why you feel the way you do.”

Brynjolf looked to his hands and legs. He felt lighter, younger and better than he had in years. He felt like he was returned into the body of a teenager. He was bursting with energy and strength, he felt invincible. He turned toward Cora, she still sat on her knees on the platform, breathing heavy.

“Cora?” Brynjolf asked.

Cora looked up and waved a hand before standing up. Brynjolf knew something was off, the way she stood was off balance. Her legs wobbled like a newborn foal while her chest came up first it threw her balance off. Brynjolf saw her body sway right before she fell backwards.

Brynjolf surged forward, his feet carrying into a whirlwind sprint. He held out his hand to catch her arm, Cora’s body dipped backwards into the shadows before he could grasp her hand. He waited for the sound of splashing or her groan but instead wind rushed passed him and he twisted his boy toward the center platform.

Cora stood in the middle, walking out of a shadow and held out her hands to balance herself. Her shoulders still tucked in for impact. Brynjolf turned his gaze to Karliah who was shaking her head in disbelief.

Cora ripped off her hood and gasped for air. She leaned forward, bracing her hands on her knees while she gulped down heaps of air. Brynjolf walked towards her but Cora simply dismissed him before she stood up and waved a finger at Karliah.

“What the bloody fuck…just happened?” Cora asked, her eyes hardening into diamonds.

Karliah simply shrugged. “Nocturnal has deemed you worthy enough to grant you each a boon. It would seem that you were given Cloak. Once you step into the shadows, you can transport to another spot that provides the same amount of shade.”

“That’s…discerning.” Cora panted.

“And for you, Brynjolf. It seems that you were given Haste. Your feet are swift and silent but yet your speed is increased two-fold.”

Where did she get this information from? Had her research and experience with Nightingales run as deep as this? But Karliah’s words rang into his head. This was the ability he was granted in return to become a sentinel of the Twilight Sepulcher. He was going to admit that having this ability was better than just becoming a plain Nightingale.

“What about you, Karliah? If we’ve all gotten an ability, what have you been given?” he asked.

“My ability of Malice is returned to me. I can deceive one’s thoughts and make them bend to my will for a short period of time.” Karliah said in a calm tone.

“No fair, I like that better.” Cora objected.

Karliah ignored Cora’s whining and then sighed. She, then explained Mercer’s true crime of stealing the Skeleton Key from the Twilight Sepulcher. His theft compromised their ties with Nocturnal and in return, Nocturnal had made their luck run dry.

Cora immediately said that whatever the Skeleton does, it must be returned to its place back in the Twilight Sepulcher. It was a demand that was clear between the three of them, no one needed to possess such an artifact. It must be returned.

“Now that we have the edge we needed we can seek out Mercer. I’m suggesting we leave by dawn to make it by nightfall to Irkingthand. But before you go back to the Guild, Brynjolf has a matter to discuss with you.”

Brynjolf nearly tensed once he heard his name but he crossed his arms once Cora turned to face him.

“Listen, lass. There’s one last piece of business we need to settle before we go after Mercer…the leadership of the Guild.”

Cora raised an eyebrow. “Why tell me this?”

Brynjolf turned his gaze to Karliah and they nodded to each other. “Karliah and I had a long discussion before you arrived here. Thanks to your efforts, Mercer’s treachery has been exposed. After we deal with him, all that remains is restoring the Guild to its full strength. As a result, we both feel that you have the potential of replacing Mercer as leader of the Thieves Guild.”

Cora’s eyes widened in shock and she gave both of them surprised looks. “Me? What about you?” She objected. He knew she would try and focus on him but he couldn’t take that role.

“I’ve been at this game for a long time, my friend. A long time. I’ve stolen trinkets from nobles and framed priests for murder. I’m good at what I do, maybe even one of the best. But it’s all I know. I’ve never been one to lead. Never desired it, never cared for it. Don’t want it.”

For the first time since he met Cora, he had actually returned her speechless. He took in every bit of silence before she began to try and form words out of her mouth. One of the most cunning thieves in Skyrim and here she stood stuttering.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” She whispered.

“Well, we have a bit of an errand to run before your coronation, so don’t get sentimental on me now.”

“Then, I accept, truly.” She smiled at him. Her eyes glimmered with excitement. There was no one else that he’d be happier to lead the Guild…no one else he’d rather stand behind than her.

“Then it’s decided. When it’s all over and Delvin’s contacts assure me that we’ve regained our footing in Skyrim, we’ll handle the details. Until then, we have quiet the task ahead.”

“Then, let’s get to it. At dawn.”

“If you need me for anything, I shall remain here and fix the place. See you both here at dawn.” Karliah said.

Brynjolf and Cora walked out of the hall. Brynjolf had felt a little lighter on his feet since he’d revealed everything to her, and he hoped that she was ready for the task ahead as anyone else. Because there was no turning back now.

 


	10. Burned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora stays up late after her initiation of becoming a Nightingale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I have no shame.  
> None. Whatsoever.

_Cloak, Sentinel._

Nocturnal’s words hadn’t stopped echoing in her head since the Initiation. It was damn near impossible to think of anything else. She laid awake in her bed as Blaise slumbered peacefully beside her. She should have been fast asleep but she was restless. Far too many things happened in the last twenty-four hours to make her sleep. Her homecoming to the Guild, Infiltrating Mercer’s place, her talk with Brynjolf and the initiation.

 

It was more than she could chew. Her head ached with every thought that came to her mind. She was filled to the brim with everything and it was only a matter of time until everything would spill over the edge. She didn’t have enough time to sit back and ponder everything individually. No, she had to take everything now and deal with it later. She wished it was easier to run far away from this but she’d made a promise to Karliah, to Brynjolf and to herself.

 

She was the only one that was actually prepared to take the final blow against Mercer. Both Karliah and Brynjolf were capable of it but Mercer had been a part of their lives. It sickened her how easily he had bound them around his finger. But that just made it easier for her to go in for the kill. She was no skilled swordsman but she was quick and deadly with her bow. Even with her newly found ability, it was just the leverage she needed to level herself with Mercer.

 

Mercer had played against Fate’s hand for far too long and she had just the winning deck to ruin him completely. She didn’t want to admit it aloud that she had no possible idea how she was going to kill Mercer. Getting through Irkingthand, surviving the Falmer, bypassing the Dwemer constructs and getting to him was the easy part. That just required stealth and arrows. But, the actual exploiting Mercer and killing him was the fuzzy part.

 

Cora sighed to herself, going to sleep was hopeless. She wasn’t going to sleep a wink, not when the weight of everything was pressing down on her. The Guild was practically silent and by practically she meant that you could hear Vipir’s obnoxious snoring, Sapphire’s sleep-talk and the constant sounds of water falling into the cistern. There was a point in her life where that was normal for her and it had become a lullaby.

 

However, she had changed from that girl that was simply a thief. She had changed into someone else completely and responsibility began to weigh heavily on her shoulders. Cora slowly slid herself out of Blaise’s grip. The boy stirred but turned his head back and continued to breathe heavily. She sighed in relief and shoved her feet into the nearest pair of boots she found. She only wore a dark blue tunic and black wool pants while she grasped the two Black Briar Reserve ales under her bed and made her way to the center of the Guild.

 

Cora made her way to the Treasury, the only room that held some sort of privacy. She paused once she saw flickering lights in the hallway towards the training room. She looked back to the Treasury but acted upon instinct to go see who could have been in there. She walked slowly, holding the ales apart so no noise was coming from her. Cora turned and peered around the corner.

 

Brynjolf stood in the center of the room, his back feet angled towards one the dummies. She narrowed her eyes, seeing that he held small daggers in his left hand. He wore a white tunic, brown pants and Guild boots. She had seen him in his casual wear before but somehow he seemed different wearing it now. Brynjolf tossed a blade into his right and twisted his body before launching the dagger into the dummy. It groaned on impact as a rain of dust and dirt sputtered upward and drifted towards the floor. She watched him angle another dagger and hit the mark in its chest.

 

Cora turned to give him his privacy but instead she stared into a dark crevice that she could easily sink her body into it. The shadow space was large enough for her to stand in but where would she be transported to? She turned and looked again, seeing that there was another corner that was unlit. She found it damn near impossible to go back now. So, she took one foot into the shadows and then another.

 

She felt her body melt into the shadow, almost becoming nothing in the process of blending into it. She twisted her body and focused on that unlit corner. Cold air touched her face as she was thrust forward into darkness. She felt her feet touch the ground on the floor and opened her eyes to see that she was in the spot she had envisioned.

 

When she first had her ability she had found it unsettling and it would make playing Hide and Seek with Blaise difficult but this way she could be in and out of a noble’s house within seconds. Cora stood in the shadows for a moment, deciding if she should reveal herself or not. She enjoyed not having him realize she was there but she was also wanting to speak to him again.

 

Cora moved out of the corner and leaned on the haystack across from Brynjolf. Upon her arrival, Brynjolf had twisted his body around and met her eyes. She gave him a slight smile and raised her hand that held the ales. She watched as a lop-sided smile cracked on his stone face. She took a seat on the floor, her back against the hay while she popped open the first bottle.

 

If she couldn’t sleep because of her thoughts then she might as well drink herself into Oblivion. Brynjolf came up and plopped himself next her and grasped the ale in her hand. She ignored the tingles that ran up her arm once his fingers touched hers. She brought the glass to her lips and took a big swig while simultaneously damning herself for the tingles.

 

They drank in silence for a few minutes. Cora stared at the five small daggers that were imbedded into the training dummy. Three daggers in the gut and two in the head, she hadn’t pegged Brynjolf as the dagger kind of man. But she hadn’t actually pegged him as a man that enjoyed carrying any kind of weapon. She imagined that he didn’t have a need to hone his skills with his blades…until now.

 

“Fighting a losing battle tonight?” He asked, breaking the silence between them.

 

She snorted, “Just tonight?”

 

Brynjolf chuckled lowly and took a sip of his ale, leaning his head against the haystack. Cora chewed on her lip for a minute, pondering what she was going to say next.

 

“Do you think I’d make a good Guildmaster?” She asked, still staring at the training dummy. She didn’t flinch once she saw Brynjolf turn his head towards her. Her heart pace kicked up.

 

“Aye, I do.”

 

The weight behind his words was heavy with emotion. Underlining meanings that were just part of the game she and Brynjolf played. She ignored the look he was giving her. There were was no doubt in her mind that she’d be a good Guildmaster but how was she expected to continue the Guild onto a steady road?

 

“There’s no one else I’d rather willingly stand beside to lead this Guild. But you should already know that.” Brynjolf murmured.

 

Cora finally looked at him. His green eyes were nearly sparkling from the torches above them. Her gut was twisting painfully and her heart clenched. There was so much she wanted to say and there wasn’t enough time in in the world to let her explain everything. How could she even begin?

 

“I may have never told you but I was relieved when you returned…” He started but paused as if he was unable to continue. She watched as he shook his head and looked back to her.

 

“I wanted to hate you, Cora. I really did.” He admitted. Cora felt her cheeks begin to heat at his words. It wasn’t quite was she was expecting but it was a brutal start.

 

“But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t hate you because I care for you.” He continued.

 

Cora was keenly aware of the imaginary noises of her self-control snapping. Each string that bounded herself together, all her thoughts, her fears and her feelings were beginning to come undone. Her heart was clenching so tightly that she feared it would break inside itself.

 

_Snip._

 

“Mercer knows that you are to me, Brynjolf. If he were to use you against me…” Cora whispered, staring at her mead. Tears threatened to spill over her eyes. She blinked them back and shook her head. No, she couldn’t begin down this road. Not when he was in danger.

 

“You can’t afford to think like that.” Brynjolf said, his words sending a wave of chills up her back and down her spine. Cora wanted to sink inside herself at this point, join her fears at the bottomless black pit inside the dark tresses her mind.

 

_Snip._

She could hear the cords snapping. She had wound them around herself so tightly that it was all she had known to do. She was used to keeping everything in and not facing the consequences of this but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t hide it anymore even how hard she tried.

 

_Snip_

 

“But I can’t afford to lose you, Brynjolf.” Cora said, lifting her gaze to meet his soft eyes. The thought was unavoidable and inconceivable. That weight alone had sunk her underwater and she was struggling to breathe while everything threatened to sink her further down.

 

“Don’t push me away again, please.” He begged.

 

“We can’t play with fire, Brynjolf. It’s too dangerous.” She let out an uneven breath. Brynjolf leaned in close, his hand sliding up her arm and then touching her face. She closed her eyes at his touch, melting into the heat that his palm radiated. It chilled the ice in her bones and soothed the worries in her mind. She opened her eyes to look at him.

 

“I’ve been playing with fire from the moment I met you. It’s just been a matter of time before I got burned.”

 

_Snap._

And then his lips were on hers. Soft, gentle lips that she had spent far too much time day-dreaming over. Cora’s self-control melted away from his touch and she found herself pressing her body into him. She kissed him back, full force and unyielding. She had erupted into fire as soon as his lips pressed against hers. All of her thoughts had dissolved and her entire system had turned to ash.

 

The kiss scorched her skin and boiled her blood, it was hot and burned. It made her hands shake and her knees weak. She wanted his touch everywhere and anywhere all at once. She wanted to burn into nothing beside him like this. Her lips parted and a whimper escaped her lips, Brynjolf’s tongue invaded her mouth and met hers.

 

She had to stop, had to pull away from this. But how could she when all she wanted was to turn into nothing? How could she pull away from him now? By the Nines, she’d been wanting this since she met him. But time was against them and there was only so much she could do to stop this.

 

Cora finally leaned back and managed to separate her lips from his. He let out a protesting groan after she placed a hand on his chest to pull them apart. She let out a few unsteady breaths before meeting his eyes. They were hooded, dark and filled with lust. Her skin erupted in goosebumps.

 

Cora could have stopped there, breaking it off and refusing to let this go any further until Mercer was slain. It would have been easier to back away and continue to throw this off until their task was finished. It could have been easier for her to walk away now without a word.

 

But she didn’t do that.

 

Cora closed her eyes and yanked his lips back over hers. A sigh of relief shuddered through her as that fiery heat overcame her senses. His kisses scorched her lips, neck and around her jaw. Cora swung her legs over and onto Brynjolf’s lap. Brynjolf growled against her skin, his teeth biting the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

 

She pressed her chest against his and ran knotted her fingers into his hair. His hands had ran up along the sides of her hips where they hesitated at the hem of her tunic. Cora let out a protest, she wanted to feel his hands against her skin. She leaned back and lifted her tunic up and over her head before throwing it onto the haystack above them.

 

Brynjolf’s eyes darkened seeing the thin band that bound her breasts together. His lips attacked her necks and shoulders while her head rolled back. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and her hips ground into his. That sensation alone had sent a wave of hot heat rolling up from between her legs to the top of her head. Brynjolf’s hands ran up her waist and one hand grasped the band and yanked it down, freeing her breasts from its confines.

 

His mouth attached onto a hardened bud while he gently massaged the other. A light moan escaped Cora’s mouth and she continued to grind her hips against his. She could feel his length, pressing against his pants, throbbing between her legs. He let out a primal growl, his teeth nipping and sucking along her breast. Cora’s mind was blank, her senses were flooding and she couldn’t feel anything other than the fire rolling in her stomach and the singeing of his lips against her breasts.

 

Brynjolf’s arms wrapped around her waist and he lifted her up with him as he stood. Cora yelped at the speed of how fast he stood. She reminded herself that she wasn’t the only one with a special ability. Brynjolf twisted them around, Cora leaned against the haystack, her legs still wrapped around his waist. She helped remove his shirt off and toss it behind her where she was sure she would be laying soon enough. Cora ran a hand up his stomach and over his chest where she grasped onto one shoulder and yanked him back onto her lips.

 

She moaned into his mouth and let her tongue meet his. She felt Brynjolf’s hand play with the string of her pants right before he yanked them off her hips and tossed them onto the floor. She gasped feeling the cold air rush to her heated legs. Brynjolf ran a hand along her stomach and paused right along the hem of her smallclothes.

 

She pulled her lips apart from his, a growl leaving her mouth as she looked into his eyes. “Don’t stop.” Brynjolf obliged and his hand went between her legs. Her back arched against his fingers as they ran through her slick folds. He continued to kiss her but instead his lips trailed away from her lips to her jaw and then her neck. Cora whimpered while his middle finger had found her bundle of nerves. He rubbed his finger along it, teasing her and making her ache for him.

 

His teeth were biting against her neck, surely she was going to have bruises tomorrow. Brynjolf’s fingers dipped into her and she moaned against his shoulders. His thumb traced over the spot again and his fingers worked slowly into her. Cora could feel the pressure rising in her stomach and she worked herself against his fingers.

 

“I could hear you moan forever.” He groaned into her neck right before he bit down on it. His fingers worked faster now, thrusting quickly and hard. The speed made her back arch and her hips meet his thrusts. She couldn’t control herself, she had to bite down on her lip to suppress anymore loud moans. Brynjolf turned his head back to Cora’s mouth just as his thumb rubbed across her again. Her walls clamped around his fingers and her climax had crashed over her.

 

Brynjolf swallowed her moan as she crashed from her climax. Her hips continued to thrust themselves against his fingers. Brynjolf moved away from her, licking her desire off his fingers while remaining eye contact. Cora’s chest heaved from the aftermath of her orgasm. Then, it was the overpowering need of having him inside her. She needed it, craved for it at this point.

 

She leaned herself back on their clothes and opened her legs for him. Her eyes flicked from her thighs to his eyes where it made him scrambling to pull his pants off his legs. She was so damn impatient that she could have torn them off of him if it weren’t for his swiftness with the ties. She watched with heavy anticipation as he slid his pants and his smallclothes off his hips and down to the floor. His cock sprang free and Cora’s eyes stayed glued to it for a second.

 

She leaned up, hooking her leg around his thigh and bringing him in close. She caught his lips as her hand gently stroked his pulsating cock. He groaned into her mouth and bit her lip gently. Cora felt Brynjolf move away and he gently laid her back onto the haystack. She nearly went crazy once she saw his eyes rake down her naked frame with a hungry look. He was the predator in this moment and she was his prey.

 

He came forward, his cock pressed against her aching center. Cora bit her lip down and met his eyes, he was waiting for her call. Cora looked back down, this was the time to break away now before things got messy. This was him giving her an option to back out now but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t break away from him anymore and he couldn’t either. They’d spent so much time pushing the other way that they didn’t seize moments like this.

 

Cora caught his hand and placed on her chest, her fingers overlapping his while they both felt her quickened heart beating against it. This was the only way she could actually prove to him, show him that he was one of the reasons it still thrummed against his palm. His eyes lifted up from her chest to her eyes where she nodded to him. “I need you, Brynjolf.” She murmured.

 

It was the exact answer he had been waiting on. A groan escaped his lips as he hiked Cora’s legs up and over his hips. He entered her slowly and let her walls grow accustomed to his girth. It was the only thing holding him back from slamming into her at full force like he wanted to. Cora’s eyes were shut and her fingernails cut into the haystack as she welcomed every inch of him. Brynjolf finally bottomed out and Cora opened her eyes.

 

She tightened the grip on his hips and brought him close. Brynjolf eased himself out, concentrating on his self-control, and thrust himself back in. Cora let out a frustrated sigh at his speed, she raised her hips and met his thrust half way. Brynjolf let out a grunt and the remaining self-control snapped, he slammed back into her aching center. Cora arched her back and gripped onto Brynjolf’s arms that held her steady against the haystack.

 

“Don’t…stop.” She whispered, keeping her voice leveled. His thrusts sped up, she was tight and it made him ache of how well her walls gripped his cock. He closed his eyes, losing himself in the pleasure, he had one arm braced next to Cora’s waist while the other still gently laid across her chest. His thrusts were long, hard strokes that had Cora’s toes curling.

 

He could feel the pressure rising in his abdomen he chased his climax. Cora’s walls were tightening around his cock now. He could feel she was close, her back bowed off the haystack and she arched her hips that made him hit a spot that made both of them feel it from their toes to the top of their heads. He slid his hand off her chest and grasped her hips hard as he rammed into her again and again. Cora’s breathing was uneven and he matched with hers.

 

“I love you.” He said through gritted teeth.

 

Cora arched her hips again and he sunk further into her. Brynjolf growled and leaned forward, laying his forehead on her chest as he sped up his thrusts. Cora was close and she could almost taste it, it wasn’t until Brynjolf found her bundle of nerves that her climax crashed onto her. Cora saw stars behind her closed eyes and her walls clamped around him. Brynjolf let out a groan into her chest that reverberated through her very core as he came too, spilling his seed inside her.

 

They laid still for a moment as both of them came down from their highs. Cora could hear her heart pounding in her ears and she concentrated on her breathing. Brynjolf still laid his head on her chest, his arms laid next to her sides. Cora suddenly remembered Brynjolf’s words and lifted his head to look at her.

 

“I love you, too.” She said smiling at him.

 

Brynjolf’s face was blank but after hearing his words, a huge grin split across his face and he leaned himself up and caught her lips. The kiss was so much more than their first and she knew it wouldn’t be their last.

 

She hoped.

 


	11. Hive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio face a problem outside Irknthand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to include some sort of fight scenes.

The following morning had been a flurry of goodbyes and orders barked around the Guild. After their moment inside the training room, Cora and Brynjolf separated back to their own beds. Of course, it wasn’t Cora’s idea to retreat back to their quarters but they did need to be sharp and prepared for the journey tomorrow morning. Brynjolf had gathered everyone (excluding Blaise) inside the cistern and gave them a talk down. 

Cora stood off to the side, fully cloaked in her armor and her bow strapped to her back. She had a fattened coin purse that had Niruin’s name written all over it. Sure, she could have trained her own child but time had run out and she needed him to be able to defend himself somehow. Even though those chances were…unlikely considering he was in a place full of deadly thieves. 

Not far from where Cora stood, Karliah had leaned against the wall. She was nearly covered in the shadows but still had an attentive eye trained on the center of the room. Karliah had a knack for making the mood in the room shift from calm to anxiety ridden. Even Cora could feel the sweeping motions of her anxiety rising up. She forced it back down and begun to play with an ebony arrow that she had plucked from her quiver. 

“All my life, I’ve known nothing but this Guild. Each one of you that stands in here today had dedicated your life to this guild. Your hard work, your blood and your tears are what solidified the foundation inside here. The brotherhood is thick between all of us and we all care for our own.” He paused, letting his words sink into every soul that stood. 

“But, Mercer showed such loyalty to this Guild when he stole from us. He made it personal with all of you by stealing every trinket, gold piece and jewel that you brought in. He made it personal to Karliah when he killed Gallus Desidenius. He made it personal with Cora once he tortured and played with her paralyzed body on the floor inside Snow Veil.” He paused before his eyes lifted off the crowd and onto Cora. 

Cora felt a shiver run straight down her spine. “He made it personal with me once he went after Cora. Mercer made his bed and it’s time that he laid in it. Once Mercer is slain and we’ve returned from Irkngthand we will restore the Guild to full strength. Since we’re thieves, I do say that it’s time to steal back what was ours.” 

The room erupted in cheers and even Cora couldn’t stop her skin from erupting into goosebumps. Everyone raised fists into the air—a gesture of loyalty to the Guild. Cora willed herself to move her legs through the cistern, she weaved through the groups of her own brothers and sisters. She took her place beside Brynjolf just as Karliah appeared on his other. The three of them raised their own fists into air. 

“For the Guild.” Cora said. 

“For the Nightingales.” Karliah added. 

“For Cora,” Brynjolf lowly. It caught only Cora and Karliah’s ears. Cora thanked the Eight that her face was covered because a blush heated her cheeks. Through the cheering and shouts Cora found Brynjolf’s hand. She didn’t wonder if he was smiling beneath his mask because it was obvious in his eyes that he was. 

After the crowd began to disperse Delvin and Vex had shown up, giving the three of them skeptical looks. Vex was sporting her usual grimace and Delvin just looked like himself. There wasn’t a word for the emotion that Delvin had on his face. Vex came up to Brynjolf and handed him a satchel with what Cora assumed was healing potions. Delvin smacked his hand against Cora’s arm, drawing her attention to him. 

“I’ve got the boy taken care of. Just don’t give me a reason to become that boy’s sole caregiver.” 

The corners of Cora’s lips twitched as a smile threatened to crack across her face. She tilted her head to the floor and gave him a slap on the back. His eyes flickered with irritation while she was sure that her eyes were blazing with cheekiness. 

“Oh, Delvin. You’ll be a perfect mother.” 

Delvin’s face twisted into a frown before it quickly softened. His shoulders dropped and he gave her a sympathetic smile. Cora’s heart yanked painfully. He pulled her into a tight embrace that had her eyes stinging. None of her jokes or back talk could break the pain in her chest. She blinked back her tears and then pulled away. 

“You big softy.” 

“Brat.” He grumbled and switched places with Vex. 

Cora raised an eyebrow to Vex, what could Vex have to say to her? Sure, they were always on the fence with each other but maybe it was time for her to say some nice goodbye…in case of anything blowing up in their faces. Maybe it was time for them to actually become friends? 

“If you muck this up, Mercer won’t be the only person you’ll be worrying about.” 

Or not. 

Cora nodded at her and gave her a friendly pat on her arm. Sure, it wasn’t the most comforting thing but leave it to Vex to keep her on her toes when it was called for. The woman was only good at threats and making passive aggressive remarks. She took it as a kind gesture all the same. 

“We better make haste. Mercer could have already made it to Irkngthand by now.” Karliah cut in. 

Vex and Delvin moved back to give them their space. They had three horses posted by the west gate, it was probably the fastest thing they had compared to their feet. Of course, Brynjolf could have easily just ran there with his newfound skill but that left Cora and Karliah beside themselves.

“Well, let’s get to it. We have to get there by nightfall.” Cora said pressing past them and making her way to the exit. 

Her stomach was twisting and the uneasiness eased its way back into her head. There was no other option and she didn’t feel like dancing with death today so she wasn’t going to let that anxiety pull her away from the fire that was still roared inside her. If anything, she hoped it lashed out and burned those worries to ash.   
~ 

They had made it to Irkngthand by nightfall, after all. They were perched on a mountain right above the ruins, the cold wind howled into their ears and stung their eyes. The ruins were crawling with all sorts of bandits. Cora was sure that Mercer had no trouble getting passed them. 

“We’ll have to sneak by them.” Karliah whispered. 

“Do you see how many there are, Karliah? This is a bandit hive, it’s swarming with them.” Brynjolf interjected. 

“Do you see any other way of getting in there without alerting the whole damn place?” Karliah hissed. 

While they bickered Cora lowered herself and narrowed her eyes at the ruins. Bridges connected with one another until they led to the front of the building. Bandits loitered with daggers and swords near the front gates where the archers took up higher routes. There was barely any bandit mages in sight but off in the corner toward a fallen pillar was an alchemy table.

There was at least one mage that was experienced in barrier spells. Cora looked over to the highest ruin where fire was illuminating the area. She could see the bandit chief sharpening their blades in full armor. She could barely make out some of the sleeping bandits on their bed rolls underneath the Captain’s pillar. 

The chief’s quarters were right next to the entrance of Irkinthand, thus making it a little harder to get to the doors when there was someone to spot the entrance. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. If she was beside herself all she had to do was blend into the shadows and carry herself toward the darkest corner of the ruin. But that would have left Karliah and Brynjolf in the dark. 

In the dark. 

Cora stood as her mind hatched a plan that was dangerously stupid but it gave them enough leg room to take care of the bandits and clear a path to the entrance. She turned back to Karliah and Brynjolf’s bickering.

“We’ll do both.” Cora stated. 

“Both?” Karliah asked, placing a hand on her hip. Her violet eyes were shining with doubt. 

“Karliah, use Malice on one the archers taking up residence in the uppermost columns and have them eliminate the sleeping bandits. Then, have them guard Brynjolf as he uses Haste to kill the ones by the gate and ground floor.” 

“What about you?” Karliah asked. 

“I’ll use cloak and get to the bandit chief. That chief stands in our way of getting to the exit safely and I can take care of them. But the skirmish between us could 

Brynjolf and Karliah shared looks at one another but shrugged. It was incredibly risky and if someone was to be alerted, they’d be as good as dead on sight. But it was a risk that would take half the time of killing them AND sneaking past them. Cora didn’t have that much belief in herself but this is what they needed to do to get to Mercer before he got to the Eyes. 

“Karliah, cast Malice now while the two other archers are distracted.” Cora instructed. 

Karliah sucked in a deep breath and made her way toward the edge of the mountain. Cora watched as she closed her eyes and a purple mist had begun forming around her fingers. Karliah’s breathing was deep and her eyes were shut tightly in concentrated. The mist thickened until it had become a smoke, she waggled her fingers before flicking her wrist outward. 

The spell shot out and struck the nearest archer. Cora held a hand out to stop Brynjolf from running to the front gates. She crouched in wait; observing as the archer shook his head to himself. Karliah whispered to herself and then the archer was already reaching into his quiver. Cora held her breath as the archer crouched and drew back an arrow, letting it soar into the air. 

The arrow struck into the throat of one sleeping bandit. The others simply twisted in their rolls, another arrow flew into the air and struck the second, then the third and fourth. Things had remained quiet until one bandit had stirred and sat up. Ice cold water struck into Cora’s veins while the bandit looked over to their fallen comrades. Cora saw Karliah twist her wrist again, the archer shot out an arrow and then an immediate one was sent out after. 

Before the bandit could yell out for help an arrow struck through their throat just as the other arrow pierced into another’s skull. Cora turned her attention to the archer turned its feet and took out the following two archers. One hit the wall, pinned in place whereas the other archer was struck in the chest and thrown off the rampart. Cora sent a signal to Brynjolf and he took off in a flurry, carrying the wind with him. 

Cora watched as Brynjolf hit the ground with a roll and snuck into the front gates. He hurled a dagger into the nearest guards face and dove out of the way of another that had been alerted. He was swift while the other five had come out to see the commotion. Silence still captivated the ruin as Karliah wrenched her arm to the side and the archer brought their bow to face the front gates. 

The archer steadily took out the three two-handed bandits that came forward to Brynjolf’s position. When only two remained the smoke around Karliah’s hand had dispersed. She quickly grasped her bow off her back and swung it around, arrow already positioned against the string. She pulled back and let the arrow soar. Cora didn’t stay long enough to see if the arrow made its mark on the awakened thrall because she cloaked herself into the shadows and focused her body into the corner. 

She was thrust forward, the wind greeted her feet as she hit the ground gently. She was still in the shadows when she unsheathed the blades at her sides. Chillrend thrummed against her palm as she took careful steps to not alert the chief. She was covered in head to toe with steel armor, which made it that much harder to fight her but she had Nocturnal at her back. 

Cora crouched and rolled across the bridge passed the main entrance until she was right behind the chief. She could tell it was a woman by the way her armor was crafted, upon her trespass the chief wasn’t alerted in the slightest. Cora readied her blades and struck.   
Cora struck with Chillrend first, letting the glass sword cleave through the first round of armor. The cold seeped into her armor and the chief sagged forward as the paralysis poison touched her skin. Cora struck with her Nightingale blade and sliced through her back. She could feel the chief gasp in surprise but fall limp against the blade that protruded through her body. 

After Cora removed her blades and the chief had fallen against the floor, blood already pooling at her feet she looked at her swords with a frown. She expected more of a fight from the bandit leader and to have her killed so easily disappointed her. 

However, the disappointment vanished once a bright light came rushing towards her face. Cora twisted her body around seeing as the fireball had struck into the concrete behind her. Cora cursed under her breath, she had forgotten about the damnable mage. She dove once another fireball was cast and rolled against the side of the wall. 

Karliah and Brynjolf were still fighting against two other bandits by the gate so they could offer no such help. Cora dove to grasp a spare dagger on the floor but was shot backwards by a fireball hitting against her chest. She hit the ramshackle bridge with a grunt and fanned the remaining fire away from her chest. She thanked Nocturnal for the resistant armor and stood back up. 

Cora let out a groan as the mage appeared at the main floor, leveling himself with her. He sent out another fireball which Cora deflected with her blades. His hands were glowing with fire and ice, as he conjured up another spell Cora hit the floor and rolled across the bridge. It shook and groaned beneath her weight as she rolled across it. Just as she rolled back onto her knees she brought her blades forward, shielding herself from the blast of fire that struck into her blades. 

She let out a grunt as her feet slid slightly against the concrete from the force of the blast alone. Cora bumped into the table that still had the dagger on the table. The mage met her eyes after she looked up from the table. His face cracked with a disturbing grin, Cora returned the smirk as she quickly grasped the table and flipped it over onto its side. She kicked it forward, it slid forward striking the mage into the chest and putting out the fire behind him. 

She seized the shadows in that second and blended into it just as the mage collected his bearings. She whipped herself across from him and steadied her breathing. She stepped out of the shadows and hurled that dagger across. It struck the mage in the back, not quite hitting the mark that she had wanted but it was better than nothing. He howled in pain and she struck her leg out, hitting him in the back legs. 

He was thrown forward on his knees, the signs of his magic had deteriorated from his hands. Cora braced her foot on his back as she swung Chillrend down and slicing through the mages neck. She drowned out the noise of her blade slicing through bone and tearing flesh and only heard the blood splatter onto her armor. The mage’s head rolled off the floor and then off the edge of the rampart. Cora immediately turned away from the mage’s corpse to see Karliah and Brynjolf already running to the bridge. 

“How was the…?” Karliah’s words died on her lips once her eyes narrowed on Cora’s bloodied blades. 

“By the Eight, lass.” Brynjolf whistled. 

Cora simply shrugged and wiped her blades onto the bed roll before sheathing them back into their spots at her sides. “I forgot about the mage.” She grumbled before going to the entrance of Irkinthand.


	12. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora, Brynjolf and Karliah catch up to Mercer.

Cora had been damning herself continuously since they entered Irkngthand. Her lust for vengeance was dwindling down by the seconds as the sunk lower and lower into the bits of the Dwemer ruin. She should have felt paranoid considering her last experience with tombs or deserted places. However, Brynjolf and Karliah guarding her back diminished the doubt that resided in her head.

 

She wasn’t necessarily fond of being ass deep in Dwemer constructs, charus eggs and the occasional Dwemer death trap. But with every death trap avoided and automaton destroyed she became one step closer of driving her blade through Mercer’s heart. Every damn Falmer they encountered had been easily slain with Cora’s blades and Karliah’s marksmanship. If they didn’t have Nocturnal guarding their asses they wouldn’t have had such luck.

 

It was only rare that they would go down an empty hallway or corridor that didn’t have any constructs or Falmer that she’d send Brynjolf through first. His speed had guided him through any traps that he had triggered thus making their journey through the damn place a little bit easier. It wasn’t until they reached the grand cavern that they had seen Mercer. Cora’s gut twisted once she’d seen Mercer slice through the Falmer and trigger the traps below them.

 

He was too far away to use a shout and it would alert the remaining Falmer of their location. It was too much of a risk to use it anyhow. Cora had easily solved the puzzle and unlocked the gate while Karliah picked off the Falmer with her bow. They were relentless and lethal creatures but with her bow they cut their time getting to Mercer in half.

 

Cora didn’t want to admit that she’d been keeping Brynjolf on the back burners since they’d entered the place. It wasn’t because his skill was only used to remove the death traps but instead she was too worried about losing him. They were neck deep in danger and the place was crawling with Falmer enough. She couldn’t stomach the idea of him getting thrown into harm’s way. They hadn’t spoken about the events of their night together.

 

She figured it was a death wish to speak of it. Nocturnal guiding them or no, that topic had emotions running too high. Even if she was dying on the inside every minute that ticked. Cora had to look at Karliah as an example of what happened when emotions took the reign. Cora wasn’t about to have history repeat itself. She willed herself to avoid thinking of the future…of the possibilities that she faced once this was over.

 

In all honesty, it sounded too good to her. She still felt as if this was once wicked cruel joke that the Divines had conjured up to play with her head. She had felt that the world was already treating her horribly enough by taking away her memory and to have blessing surface was unusual. She was waiting for the punchline or for her time to run out. It’s what she’d grown used to. It’s what she had made herself believe. It was that thought that unrelenting thought that kept her skin hardened and her heart steeled.

 

They reached the slave pens with two Falmer patrolling the floor beneath them. Cora raised a hand to stop them as Karliah readied her bow. There was multiple torture devices scattered on the floor, blood splatter and a high amount of rotting corpses in a pen below them. Cora scanned the floor further and her eyes latched onto a two long slits in the floor. Karliah reached the corner, pulling back her bow to let out the first arrow.

 

Cora lunged toward the red lever and yanked it around. The lever groaned and squeaked against her grip but it gave way. She reached over and caught Karliah by the cape as soon as the Dwemer traps were triggered. She turned her head away as soon as the blades came out of their slots and tore the Dwemer to pieces. It was the sickening noises of blades slicing through their skin and bone that made chills run down her spine.

 

Cora turned the lever back once she only heard the slicing noises of the blades cutting through air. She peered through the gated window. Her gut clenched and she felt bile rise to her throat. Falmer body parts were scattered on the floor and blood was nearly drenching their work bench, the slave pen and the torture table. Karliah twisted her head to look at Cora.

 

“We could have gone with a less…creative approach, don’t you think?” She hissed, her eyes narrowed.

 

“I didn’t expect to have the spinning blades of dismemberment to come out.” Cora said, holding her stomach in attempt to keep her need for throwing up at bay.

 

Karliah gave her a grunt and muttered the word ‘understatement’ as they wove through the slave pens. It wasn’t until they had entered a Falmer hive that they blended into the darkness. If there hadn’t been fires lit along their huts and chaurus pits they would have stumbled right into their territory. Falmer lurked around every corner and moved freely along their other pack members.

 

“We can’t possibly sneak through this without alerting the Falmer or the chaurus.” Cora hissed to Karliah.

 

“No, we won’t need to. If we follow that pipeline we can easily avoid their den.” Karliah whispered to her.

 

Cora was nowhere near in shape enough to fend off the thirty or so Falmer without using one of her shouts. Cora and Brynjolf nodded to Karliah but Karliah held up a hand to Cora to stop her in her tracks.

 

“Use Cloak and meet us by the main door to the sanctuary.” She whispered.

 

Mercer had to be in there already, there wasn’t that much space left for him to hide from them. It was quite possible that Mercer believed he had killed all of them hours ago when they found him in the grand cavern. She had hoped that Mercer was that deluded because it made surprising him and killing him so much easier. Cora answered her with a quick tip of her head and then she was already pressing herself into the shadows.

 

She held her breath and remained silent as she was thrust forward, passing each individual hut from the Falmer. The fire gave her enough leg room to bounce from each shadow to the other. She wove through the Falmer den, ignoring their incoherent speech to each other. She slipped through the final shadow and stayed in the shadows to watch as Karliah and Brynjolf snuck passed them overhead.

 

Luckily, the hideous creatures were blind and were dependent on their hearing. Cora saw a Falmer straighten itself out and begin to walk towards the sanctuary pathway. Quickly, she grasped her ebony bow that was strapped to her back. She hadn’t had a reason to use it until the Falmer sniffed the corner that she hid in.

It blinked and peered into the darkness she was shrouded in. Its red and black eyes squinting into the darkness. Could it smell her? Could it hear her heart beating against her chest? If it made just one noise they would be discovered. By the Eight, they wouldn’t survive the ambush with the Falmer. Cora slowly grasped an arrow from her quiver and positioned it against her bow.

 

She didn’t dare breathe as the Falmer’s face twisted and he let out a growl. Cora looked up to see Brynjolf and Karliah perched at the drop off. Brynjolf shook his head before flicking a finger across the metal above the beast. The Falmer twisted around toward the noise and Cora struck. She pulled her string back and let the arrow soar, watching it as it pierced into the Falmer’s throat.

 

She stepped out of the shadows, watching the Falmer fall to the floor clawing at the arrow embedded in its throat. The Falmer’s mouth flooded with blood and cascaded a red waterfall from its lips before it fell face first into the ground. She let out a sigh of relief just as Brynjolf and Karliah jumped off the pipeline. Her heart pounded in her ears and her body nearly shook from the fear that threatened to cover her entire body.

 

“Let’s go, Mercer is just beyond this corridor.” Karliah whispered.

 

They didn’t hesitate and took off into a sprint toward the inner sanctuary. It was far better than staying a minute longer in that cursed place. The Falmer always gave her more chills than the Forsworn did. The Forsworn were at least humans and not something that looked like it surfaced from the bowels of Oblivion. They ran into the room, greeted by two golden double doors. Cora shared a look with Karliah as they skidded to a halt.

 

“Is everyone ready?” Karliah asked.

 

“This is for the Guild.” Brynjolf said and looked at Cora.

 

Karliah’s violet eyes turned on Cora. “Are you ready?”

 

“Am I ready to murder someone that attempted to murder me? Of course.” She growled.

 

Her patience had run thin and Mercer was just on the other side of the doors. It was now or never and she’d been waiting for ‘now’ to finally appear. Whether death or victory awaited her from beyond the doors, she had no idea of knowing.

 

Karliah quietly opened the door, each one of them slid in silently. Cora’s eyes adjusted to room that was hardly lit. Her eyes landed on the giant stone statue that sat in the center of the room. By the Nines, the statue of Irkngthand was real. It took her only moments before her eyes landed on Mercer’s body leaning against the stone’s face.

 

“He’s here and he hasn’t seen us yet. Brynjolf, watch the door.” Karliah breathed. They didn’t have enough time to get discovered now. Cora caught Brynjolf’s hand, he looked at her.

 

“Stay safe,” she whispered.

 

“Aye, lass. Nothing's getting by me." He said, reassuring the doubts that plagued her mind.

 

 

Brynjolf inched back to the door, his weapons unsheathed and drawn. It was the safest spot for him for their short time frame. Cora looked around the sanctuary. There was enough space to give her enough leg room to use cloak but she questioned on how she could get to each crevice. Her eyes wandered down to her left where an unlit torch gave enough darkness for her to slip into. If she could get to that spot without making noise or distracting Mercer she could easily get to him.

 

Only the ledge that they stood on remained in their way. The drop was too high enough to fall safely on and it’d do more harm than good to even try climbing off of it. Cora turned and met Karliah’s eyes, she gave her a swift jerk of her chin toward the dark corner.

 

"Climb down that ledge and see if you can..." Karliah whispered.

 

"Karliah, when will you learn you can't get the drop on me?" Mercer’s voice cut in through the silence.

 

Cora’s blood ran cold and her bones went to ice. They all froze in place and turned to Mercer, he had his blades drawn now. His eyes were shooting knives through all three of them. Mercer’s eyes seemed to flash surprise once they set on Brynjolf. He merely narrowed his glare and fixated his eyes back to Karliah.

 

Then, the ground gave way beneath Cora’s feet. Karliah was thrown backwards just as Cora hit the ground with a groan, her chest barking out in pain as with her shoulder. She could feel two of her ribs break on impact. She heaved out a breath of air, the pain slicing through her lungs. Cora slowly stood, bracing her hands on her blades. She wasn’t about to show any signs of injury to Mercer.

 

Once she stood she met his eyes and the smirk on his face vanished. He stood on a book that the statue held in its lap. She was at a better angle to reach the corner than where she was before. Water poured from a valve above her, her own feet were submerged in water.

 

“When Brynjolf brought you before me I could feel a sudden shift in the wind. And at that moment, I knew it would end with one of us at the end of a blade." Mercer prattled.

 

“Give me the key, Mercer.” Cora warned.

 

Her fingers wrapped around the hilts of her blades. Cora could still see the dark corner from her peripherals. All she had to do was jump to it to halt any signs of Mercer’s escape. She’d have to be swift but it was going to be hard with her ribs pressing into her lungs.

 

"What's Karliah been filling your head with? Tales of thieves with honor? Oaths rife with falsehoods and broken promises? Nocturnal doesn't care about you, the Key or anything having to do with the Guild. _"_

“It’s not about Nocturnal. This is personal.” She said, she had to bide her time to distract him long enough to jump into the crevice.

 

She was keenly aware of Karliah still peering over the edge, she could feel her eyes on her back. Mercer narrowed his eyes at her before letting out a dry laugh. A laugh that sent cold air running down her spine. She felt a jolt of pain surge through her once she let the chill slide down her back.

 

“Revenge is it? Have you learned nothing from your time with us? When will you open your eyes and realize how little my actions differ from yours? Both of us lie, cheat and steal to further our own end." He argued.

 

Cora gave him a smile. He was so wrong in so many ways and there wasn’t enough time to explain to him why he was wrong.

 

 ** _"_** The difference between us is that I still have honor." She hissed.

 

"It's clear you'll never see the Skeleton Key as I do... as an instrument of limitless wealth. Instead you've chosen to fall over your own foolish code." He sighed, his voice was heavy with sarcasm and yet there was a hint of mischief behind it.

 

“If anyone falls, it will be you.” Cora said and met his eyes. They nearly were set ablaze with anger. If he was going to give her a fight then she wanted him angry, she wanted to have him feel every increment of pain and torture that he put her through.

 

“Then the die is cast, and once again my blade will taste Nightingale blood!”

 

The ground shook beneath her feet and she jumped toward the crevice. Darkness enfolded around her like an embrace. She was thrown forward, wind stroked her face as she came out of one of the dark corners, just mere feet away from Mercer.

 

“Karliah, I'll deal with you after I rid myself of your irksome companions. In the meantime, perhaps you and Brynjolf should get better acquainted." He laughed.

 

Fear sliced through Cora as soon as Mercer’s hand shot out a bright light toward Brynjolf and Karliah. Mercer jumped from his location before he vanished into thin air. Cora blinked, realizing that Mercer’s own ability was invisibilty.

 

“What…what’s happening? I can’t stop myself!” Brynjolf yelled before he went after Karliah. Karliah dodged his attack and rolled passed him, using the brunt of her bow to smack Brynjolf in the chest. He didn’t flinch and went after her again his blades swinging and lashing into the air.

 

“Damn you, Mercer! Fight it, Brynjolf! He’s taken control of you!” Karliah pleaded but kicked out her leg against Brynjolf’s.

 

“I’m-I’m sorry, Karliah. I can’t!” He stumbled and Karliah dove away from his grasp. The ledge they stood on was too small and too high for her to jump off of. With both of them detained that only meant Cora was to face Mercer alone.

 

Cora’s attention was drawn away the second she heard dirt crunch behind her. Instinctively, Cora leapt backwards and avoided the slashing of Mercer’s blade. Mercer appeared in front of her eyes and she grasped her blade from it’s sheath and met his blade with hers before he could swing again.

 

Her arms were still weak and the angle had every part of her chest screaming in pain. Cora gritted her teeth and pressed all her weight into Mercer’s blade, matching his stance. Her ribs were throbbing in agony and her arms began to shake.

 

“This time I’ll finish what I started. I’ll make sure to torture you slowly this time and I’ll start by making you watch as I kill your precious child and then spew Brynjolf’s blood across the Guild.” He growled.

 

The fire that had laid dormant inside Cora’s belly had ignited. Heat flashed across her body as her blood began to boil with anger. She pressed her heels into the dirt and lashed her leg out, hitting him right in the chest. Mercer was thrown back, dodging as a dagger lanced through his arm. He let out a groan and disappeared once again. Cora laid a hand on her ribs, heat pulsated in the spot where her ribs had been cracked.

 

Her satchel with the healing potions still remained on the floor by the scattered ledge. She didn’t have enough time to reach it, she was going to be fighting a battle with Mercer in a weakened state. She grasped another arrow out of her quiver. She’d fought with worse injuries. Cora only heard fighting and water rushing from the cavern alone.

 

Finding Mercer while he was cloaked was damn near impossible. She had no way of finding him while he remained invisible but she had little time before he’d strike next. Cora grasped a handful of dirt off the ground and launched herself onto the arm of the statue.

 

“You’re shaking, Cora. Have my threats struck a chord?” Mercer’s voice called out.

 

Cora spun to her left, her grip on the dirt tightening. Her teeth grinded against one another. She was already remembering the events of Snow Veil. The possibility of dying in another place where no one would find her. The possibility of losing everyone she cared about.

 

“The only chord you’ve struck is my hatred for you.” She growled.

 

Mercer laughed and then she saw the water ripple beneath the spot where she stood. She didn’t take any chances but toss the dirt at the movement. She held her breath and waited for the dirt to hit the water. Instead, it landed on something tall and moving. The shadow moved and Cora launched her arrow into where the dirt struck.

 

Mercer stumbled, still cloaked in his spell, he let out a laugh before removing the arrow from his body. It clattered onto the floor and the dirt had disappeared. She was still blind to seeing wherever he was and he’d surely take advantage of that. From beyond the statue Karliah was still diving away from Brynjolf’s attacks. She had to end Mercer quickly and stop Brynjolf from getting hurt.

 

She was balancing herself now as she trekked across the extended arm. He couldn’t attack her if she was on top of the staff of the statue. It gave her a way point and a clear shot in case Mercer’s spell broke and he could no longer use it. It was her best chance at defeating him. Bow still in hand she made to climb the large hand but heard the sound of feet hitting stone.

 

“I’m curious to hear what sounds Brynjolf makes once I kill his precious protégé!” Mercer yelled from behind her.

 

Cora turned and her bow collided against Mercer’s blade. She anticipated his attack this time, she could feel her blood rushing into her ears. She had to balance herself along the arm of the statue, it was a sheer drop and she’d surely die if she fell now. Mercer was pressing everything into his strike and she could feel her arms beginning to lose their strength.

 

Cora looked down to the edge of the statue and swallowed. She wasn’t going to let it end here, she wasn’t about to lose to the man that tortured her inside Snow Veil. She had a legacy to protect and a son to fight for. She’d killed dragons and yet she was facing death by a thief.

 

Her mind flashed an idea. Cora turned her gaze back to Mercer, a shit eating grin cracked across her face. Sweat beaded across her brow and she narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t just Brynjolf’s protégé, she never had been.

 

“You forgot to mention Dragonborn.” She said with a smile.

 

Mercer’s face paled. Cora felt the Thu’um fill her lungs. Her whole body came alive with her concentration. She summoned up everything she had inside her. She wasn’t paralyzed and helpless on the floor anymore. Which meant she could use whatever means she had to kill Mercer. If that meant that she’d shout him off this damn statue then so be it.

 

The shout surpassed her lips, waves of blue and white shot out and threw Mercer’s body backwards. She wasn’t going to reach her blades in time to strike him down. She didn’t know how long she had before he’d shroud himself again and she wasn’t going to chance it.

 

She didn’t waste time and yanked an arrow from her quiver. Time flashed in front of her as she let the arrow fly, hitting Mercer in the chest. He let out a groan and stumbled backwards. She walked forward, sending the next into his arms, the next into his legs. Every arrow that hit a body part was the pain he caused her. Each torture she endured, the threats he had spewed from his mouth and for each time he haunted her thoughts.

 

She pulled her last arrow and fired. Shedidn’t bother to look before it hit Mercer right in the forehead. It struck with a splatter of blood coating the stone in front of her feet. His body sagged, going limp before it fell off the side of the arm where it plunged onto the stone below. Cora felt the room shake and groan before a pipe above her burst, sending rocks and metal parts into the air.

 

Cora sheathed her bow and ran forward, off the arm and around to the edge onto the walkway where she jumped off the ledge. The room began to fill with water that was flooding in from the lake above them. This place was going to become a watery grave if they didn’t get to the exit.

 

“We have to go!” She heard Karliah scream out. Brynjolf and Karliah dove into the water. The place was filling too quickly and from the pipeline breaking it sealed off the only exit they knew of. Before she could even think of catching up to them she remembered her purpose. Cora looked down into the water where Mercer’s corpse floated.

 

“Go to the head of the Snow Elf! I have to get Mercer’s satchel off his body! Look for an exit!” Cora yelled over the sounds of water rushing in. The two of them nodded and swam up to the ledges, throwing themselves over it they made a rush toward the head of the statue.

 

Cora looked down into the water and dove. Mercer’s body was weighed down against the stone, Cora held her breath and avoided his blood that was now mixing with the water. She grasped his body and yanked his satchel off his shoulder and took the gleaming Dwemer blade off his side. Cora felt the ground surge and more rocks fell down.

 

She dove from the bigger ones but didn’t swim quickly enough before two stones slammed into her body. One stone cracked against her skull while another crushed and pinned her leg to the floor. Cora’s body went limp, the water dragging her down further. Water invaded her mouth as she let out a yelp of pain when her leg twisted the wrong way. She swallowed a handful before closing her mouth this time. Her vision blurred and her head spun. She blinked through the water and twisted to get the boulder off her leg.

 

Visions blurred her memory as she struggled. A wave of déjà vu hit her senses as water filled her nose. She shook her head at the overwhelming feeling of familiarity. Had she done this before? When had she had this feeling of drowning before?

_Cold water filling your lungs, water freezing the bones that protruded through her body. Broken, you were broken. Water going in through your nose. Everything burned, everything was burning._

 

Cora yanked her leg against the boulder that pinned her to the floor. She twisted and yanked but the rock didn’t dare to budge, she was fighting against it but with every movement her body screamed in protest. She was going to die here, she was going to die here. She chanted in her head.

_Weakness. You cannot lift your head but heard screaming in the distance, the water drowned out the blood curling the screams. A single voice cutting through the chaos, clear and sharp. A name is screamed into the air, a name you remember but cannot claim._

Cora seized the opportunity and opened her mouth, she used her thu’um and the boulder shifted against the current she created. She yanked again, determination coursing through her. She wasn’t going to die in here, not like this.

 

_Dragged away, you’re being dragged away from the voice that calls out into the void. A deafening roar cuts through that single voice in the air. It’s a dragon’s roar, you realize it. You can feel the tether to it like a warm embrace or a summoning to the shout. The voice cuts over the dragon and then a name is shouted through the air. You know this name, this name belongs to you and you alone._

_“Carisitiona!”_

“Cora!” Brynjolf’s voice rippled through the water.

The boulder gave way and rolled off her leg and she was free. Cora swam up towards a light that was shining above her. She could hear yelling as she swam farther and farther up. How long had she been under water? She chose not to finish that train of thought before she broke water. She threw herself up and caught onto soil.

 

Cora heaved herself out of the water and swallowed down heaps of air. She was gasping for air, there wasn’t enough of it to make her lungs stop burning She heard Brynjolf speak and rush to her but she coulnd’t make out his words. She held out a hand as she turned around and vomited water. Her throat stung with the salt water that came up. Her eyes rimmed with water as she emptied her stomach of all its contents.

 

She felt a hand on her back, warming her skin beneath her armor. She wiped off her mouth and stood, she could feel the blood that trickled down the side of her face. Her eyes adjusted to the blinding light in front of her. She had survived, she had made it out of the water grave that had been made for her. She was twisted into someone’s arms and then she felt a warm embrace.

 

Brynjolf.

 

She was in Brynjolf’s arms, she hadn’t noticed she’d been shaking until her body was convulsing against his. She couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from pure fear of facing death…again. Maybe it was a little of both but she wasn’t going to think of it. Brynjolf warmed her body and Karliah finally came up to them. She gripped a large healing potion and popped the top.

 

“Drink this. Your leg might be broken and Nocturnal knows what else is damaged on you.” Cora took it with trembling fingers.

 

She drank the potion, letting all the bitter contents heal all the wounds in her body. Her leg was damaged, her head was bleeding and her ribs had been snapped. She could only hope it healed everything that ached inside her. After finishing the bottle, her body finally calmed and she felt the familiar feeling of the potion warm her insides.

 

“It’s done?” Karliah asked, sounding doubtful.

 

They all shared looks with one another. “Mercer Frey is dead.”


	13. Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf is left to his thoughts in the aftermath of Mercer's death.

Brynjolf remembered when Cora’s voice—her shout had rang through the entire ruin. It was something that was going to be burned into his memory for the rest of his days. Her shout had reverberated through the stones walls and the floor quaked at his feet. The shout had broken the spell that Mercer held over him and he gained full control of his movements. He dropped his blades and watched as Cora had unsheathed her bow and sent her arrows flying into Mercer.

Once the ruin had filled with water and there was nothing left but a corpse he had swam to the exit with Karliah in tow. It wasn’t until that Cora didn’t surface that his blood had run cold and his bones felt like icicles. He waited for what felt like years for her to surface and water began to overflow at their feet. After another minute, the both of them began to remove their heavy weapons to dive after Cora. B

If Brynjolf was going to survive then Cora was going to survive too. He wasn’t about to go back to the Guild one person short. No way in Oblivion was he going to let that happen. Brynjolf was about to leap into the water when a hand had struck out of the water, bloodied fingernails digging into the mud at his feet. His body froze completely and Cora’s head broke through the water and she swallowed down heaps of air.

He lifted her body, cringing at the color her leg had turned. It wasn’t until she shoved him away and held a hand out before she had vomited all the water she had swallowed. She heaved and heaved until her good leg had begun to shake. She wiped off her mouth and turned toward them, Brynjolf had wrenched her into his chest. His lips kissing her forehead and his hands wrapped around her sides. The shaking had subsided once Cora’s fingers found their way around his back.

Brynjolf’s body had been sore and full of minimal scratches thanks to Karliah’s quick dodging skills. Only Karliah and Brynjolf had come out sore with small wounds unlike Cora who needed more help to heal properly. They had walked across the frozen lake and made it halfway down the road where they made camp.

Cora hadn’t made a lick of sense while she was delirious from short paralysis potion Karliah had shoved down her throat. Her leg was in worse damage than they had originally believed. Luckily, the break had been a clean slice but they jostled her too much that the bones had moved away from each other. Karliah had stayed close with another healing drought in her hands while Brynjolf held her leg together, the two pieces of bone lining up with each other.

Cora was continuously mumbling about a river and fires overhead while his fingers gripped her legs with such force that bruising was already noticeable. Karliah made her drink the healing drought and knocked back a magicka potion while her hands began to glow with yellow and gold swirls. Karliah placed her hand over the fracture, eyebrows knitted in frustration while the gold light struck out from her palm and ran up her legs and torso.

The potion Cora had drank before they moved away from the mouth of Irknthand had healed her broken ribs and other wounds she had received from her battle with Mercer. It was going to take magic and some stronger potions to heal her leg. It was the only way of making sure she wasn’t being forced to be an invalid for the rest of her days.

Bryjolf had felt Cora’s leg thrum with magic, he could feel the bone beneath his palms knit back together. The sensation was more unnerving than relieving as he kept her leg pinned. Cora’s eyes rolled back into her head and she fell into unconsciousness. Karliah reassured his worries that it was from exhaustion and the paralysis potion.

Cora had been asleep for hours after that. They decided to make camp and stay there until Cora’s leg had healed fully and they were all ready for the trek back to Riften. At this current point in time, Brynjolf stood by the fire as he rubbed his tense shoulders and he rolled his sore neck. At first, Karliah had insisted on taking the first watch but he felt too restive to try and seep. However, exhaustion had enfolded him like a blanket but the restlessness he felt from deep within kept him alert.

It wasn’t until Karliah excused herself and mentioning something about “giving thanks to Nocturinal” that he had finally noticed she’d slipped into the darkness. He didn’t know how long he had been watching Cora sleep. It calmed the aches in his chest to watch her breathe deeply. He’d come so close to losing her and this was his way of unwinding.

He was in disbelief over Cora revealing herself as Dragonborn. He knew that she was so much more different than any woman. But he didn’t expect that that different meant ‘Dragonborn’. She was lethal enough already but the fact that she could shout anyone in pieces would terrify any man. She was the most dangerous woman in Tamriel and yet she snored like a bear in hibernation.

He ran his fingers through his hair. Divines protect him, he had to fall madly in love with a woman who harbored dragon souls within her. Her heart that he had felt against his chest, pumped blood that matched a dragon’s. Blood he had seen that was spilled from Mercer’s blade. Mercer didn’t have a chance, even with Nocturnal’s boons.

All his life he’d heard fairytales about the Nightingales and of brave warriors that shouted and slayed dragons. But that was it, they were just fairytales. In a matter of one week, those myths were proved to be true. He had Nocturnal at his back and he had bedded a Dragonborn. Not many men would be brave enough to boast about that and he wasn’t in the type of mood to be shouted into Oblivion.

Cora stirred and he leaned down and watched as her eyes opened. Clear grey eyes stared up at the sky above them before they switched to meet his gaze. She let out a groan and touched her head, rubbing a spot to above her brow that had already scarred from where a rock had struck into her head. Slowly, she sat herself up and looked to her leg.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“Like I was buried in a rockslide.” She said, her voice was hoarse and thick with sleep.

“Well, you’re not wrong, lass.” He mumbled.

Cora looked at her hands before twisting her head around and behind her. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back to him. “Where’s Karliah?”

“She went to go give thanks to Nocturnal.”

Cora simply nodded.

“So, I bedded THE Dragonborn?” He asked, cutting through the silence.

Cora’s eyes shot up to look at him. She began to give a sheepish grin while she played with her fingers and shrugged.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I was planning on telling you?”

He looked at her in disbelief. Cora let out an agitated groan before she rubbed her temples.

“I didn’t want it to tarnish the Guild’s reputation. When I stumbled into Riften, I had just fought off one dragon and I wasn’t about to go answer the Grey-Beard’s calling.”

Brynjolf recalled the day that the Grey-Beards had shouted into the sky. An invitation to have the Dragonborn meet them in High Hrothgar. And then it was two days later that Cora stumbled in, with no memory and looking like she had been mugged by bandits. But in reality, she had come from the dragon attack in Whiterun. It was the small details that he should have more attention to.

“I didn’t want to be Skryim’s savior. I wanted to keep my head low and figure out who I was….and I did.” She said looking up at him.

Her words carried weight and it was that weight that would snap him in half. He felt deceived and it wasn’t necessarily for the worst. If they were different people he would have clapped her on the back for being able to successfully hide such a huge thing about herself. But they weren’t different people and this was…unbelievable.

“See? There. It’s that kind of look that I was avoiding al this time. I didn’t want people to look at me like that—or you, for that matter. I needed normalcy and I felt it with you. That first initial interaction between us, that’s what I longed for.”

He remained quiet during the war his mind was having. She was right to conceal her identity because once word of the Dragonborn surfacing hit the air it was nearly impossible to get anyone’s attention. He respected that decision and most of all, he wondered what Mercer would have done if he had known Cora was Dragonborn? It was for the Guild but it was still for him. Even when she hadn’t known him or herself she still put him first.

But what tore him up was the fact that even as time went on and their trust within each other was strong she still didn’t tell him. If he had known before all this, would he look at her the same? Would he had been brave enough to approach her or even take her under his wing when he did? He had trained her like any other member and he had spoken to her like he would have with anyone else.

“At first it was for my own safety but then it became more about Blaise’s and then you came into the picture...” She sighed while pulling her legs to her chest.

“I understand.” He said, taking a seat next to her. She looked up from the lake and into his eyes.

“I do. I would do anything to protect Blaise or you.” Cora raised a brow and leaned into his arm.

It was the truth, he would. He could no longer imagine a life without her or Blaise in it. At first, it was just a game of him dodging the possibility of being with her. Now, he needed it more than ever.

“You’re such a softy.” She teased.

“And you’re a pain in my ass.” He grumbled.

He heard branches snap behind them. In seconds, they had both stood up and faced the noise. Brynjolf’s hands were on his daggers and Cora’s hand was already gripping her bow. Karliah poked her head out of the thicket and looked at their posture. She gave them a withering glare before she turned her gaze onto Cora.

“Good, you’re awake. You and I have business to attend to.”

Cora and Brynjolf shared a look. 


	14. Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora goes through the Pilgrim's Path and finally talks with Nocturnal.

Cora stood in at the entrance of the Twilight Sepulcher. When she and Karliah had their ‘business talk’ she didn’t expect that she would be the one to return the Skeleton Key. She definitely didn’t expect Nocturnal to demand that Cora to be the one to return it.

 

Nor did she expect the soul of Gallus to be guarding the main entrance when she had first come in. Their conversation was short but pleasant—as pleasant as Cora wanted it to be. She wasn’t fond of ghosts nor was she fond of talking ones. He had given her little advice sine his soul was already partially fading away. But she already vowed to tell Karliah about Gallus’s ghost and whatever weight that would hold to her.

 

It could have been easier if he had just helped her but instead his soul was decaying at a faster rate than his corpse did. She huffed out air, keeping her bow pointed to the ground. She could see the purplish sentinels prowling the floor from her hiding spot she had thrown herself into. Her power was useless in the test so she had to do this the hard way.

 

She kept her body crouched into the ground while she turned a corner to see a sentinel turn it’s back to her. From at the bottom of the stairs nearest to her was two more sentinels that guarded the only door that led further into the sanctuary. She readied an ebony arrow at the base of her bow, she steadied her breathing and pulled the string back. From the groan of the string one of the sentinels turned, Cora et the arrow fly watching it as it impaled through the ghost’s throat.

 

She dove for it then, keeping her body lined against the wall she rolled until she was at the glowing remains of the sentinel. From the glowing ash, she picked out her arrow and aimed it at the wall. It was far enough for one to go investigate and giving her enough time to take out the other. She let the arrow fly and wasted no time grasping the next arrow. Her prediction was right and she quick fired the next taking out the ghost. She yanked back another arrow and launched it forward striking the other sentinel in the back.

 

Their bodies burst into a flash of white light before their ashes laid on the floor. She gave a sigh of relief and stood.

 

“This was not highlighted in the agreement.” She hissed to herself taking the stairs two at a time.

 

She reminded herself to kill Karliah when she returned from this mission. And if she had the bravery for it, she was going to ask Nocturnal why in the Oblivion would she pick her as the sentinel to return the key? Cora counted on her hand how many trials waited for her behind each door. She had survived the first trial but Karliah failed to mention the other Nightingales visciously guarding the sanctum.

 

Cora opened the next door and stopped seeing that an open area laid out in front of her. She poked a head out to see the training platforms. The room was black as dark and in some parts white light was shining on certain parts. Cora noted to stay away from the lighted parts of the center and keep her feet silent. She sheathed her bow and gave herself a groan before she leapt out onto the open area.

 

She sprinted through the dark areas, her feet had been light as she breezed past the pressure plates. She didn’t trigger anything until she ran up to one platform where the light shined. She kept still and grasped the dagger at her side, slowly she eased the dagger into the light. Sizzling noises inflicted on the weapon as it began to redden against the heat. The blade burned at the tip and she yanked the dagger back.

 

“Either I risk fumbling through the darkness or I sprint through the blazing white light that could turn me into a crisp.” She said to herself.

 

Cora crouched and turned her head toward the darkness. There was no indication that the floor on the other side of the platform was there or not. Cora grasped a pebble and tossed it on the ground, she waited for the noise but only heard it echo through the rest of the cavern. She closed her eyes and looked back to the light.

 

She whistled to herself and then sprinted. She could feel the warmth of the light as it struck through her armor and hit her skin. She let out a scream of pain as the light was searing her skin. She sprinted forward, throwing her legs farther than she thought possible. She felt her whole body start to catch fire as she sprinted to the last few feet. She caught sight of a tripwire and flung her body over it and rolled into the darkness.

 

She hit the floor and rolled on her shoulder while her body began to feel the cooling embrace of darkness. Cora hissed at herself feeling the sting of burns on her arms and back. She ruffled through her satchel and popped open a potion and threw it back. Still crouched she saw another dark path that was mirrored by another lit platform. Cora wasn’t going to waste her time getting burnt alive, she decided to cheat.

 

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She focused on the word wall she had found months ago on one of her treks to Markarth. She envisioned the essence of it, she let the words magicks flow into her blood stream. She felt the resurgence in her lungs and then she opened her mouth as the shout rolled off her tongue.

 

“Feim!” She shouted into the darkness. The ground beneath her feet shook for a few seconds and then she felt the familiar feeling of air kiss her face.

 

Her body erupted into purple flames as she became ethereal. She looked to her arms that were translucent. She only had minutes before it would wear off but it gave her enough time to get through the rest of the trial. She stood and went right back into running, she went up the ramp and smirked to herself as the light shined right through her body.

 

“Karliah said that I had to do the trials to the best of my abilities. But she didn’t say anything on using my shouts.” She said aloud and jumping over another tripwire.

 

She found the last door and threw herself up the stairs and into the hallway. She opened the door and her shout had run flickered out. Her body slumped in exhaustion from the after effects. Cora walked down the hallway holding her cape to her nose as the blood trickled down her nose. The effects of using her shouts untrained were beginning to wear on her.

 

Cora opened the next door to the third chamber. She stared at a statuette of Nocturnal and then at the statue’s feet was a corpse of a bandit. She whistled to herself and mumbled an apology as she tried to remember the third trial’s riddle.

 

“Offer what she desires most, but reject the material. For her greatest want is that which cannot be seen, felt or carried.”

 

Cora leaned down to look at the body. In his hands was a bowl of dazzling gems, they had gathered dust over time. She kept her cape pinned to her mouth from the stench of his corpse. She pocketed the jewels and turned her attention back to the room around her. It was lit by three torches that seemed to surround Nocturnal’s statuette.

 

“Offer what she desires most…” she looked back to the bandit.

 

“But reject the material.” She stopped once the answer slapped her in the face.

 

She shoved past the statue and over to the torches, peered behind them and sure enough was two handles. She yanked both and the torches were blown out, the wall in front of her began to shake and crumble. She waved the dust away from her face as the secret door rose up and revealed another corridor. She walked through the tunnel leading into another chamber.

 

She stared at two doors on her side and in front of her. One door was clearly a direct but lengthy route to the inner sanctum. She turned on her heel toward the door on her side. If she had learned anything from her journeys with mazes and doors she knew that the quickest path was the trickiest. She pulled out the skeleton key with her pick and played with the lock in front of her.

 

It was a master lock—which she wasn’t surprised about. She twisted and adjusted the lock until she heard the tumblers groan and click open. The door opened in front of her revealing a new pathway. Still crouched, she walked through the hallway to another small room. She stopped seeing two sentinels rise from their coffins.

 

She cursed to herself and pulled off her bow. The two sentinels looked toward her, weapons already being drawn as she caught hold of her first arrow.

 

“’Become a Nightingale!’” She yelled launching the first arrow and dodging the first swipe of a blade.

 

She lunged out and caught the arrow imbedded in one of the sentinel’s legs. She ripped the arrow out, hearing the scream that she felt in her bones. She dodged another counterattack from the other spirit by bringing the other in front of her. It’s blade swiped through it’s chest, cutting the ghost from the neck down.

 

“’Nocturnal will grant you with wonderful boons and guaranteed riches!’” She hissed, mocking Karliah’s voice as the ghost’s body burst into ashes.

 

She hit the ground and caught her next arrow. The sentinel above her raised its sword above their head. She positioned her arrow above her as the sword came down, striking her bow. Her elbows barked out in pain as the strength in the swing had caused her teeth to slam into each other. She yanked the string back and watched as the arrow penetrated the ghost’s face. The ghost stumbled back while it’s sword clattered to the floor and it erupted into a flash of white.

 

Cora let her shoulders hit the floor and tried to steady her breathing. “I’m really going to kill Karliah.”

She got back on her feet and went through the next door. Cora furrowed her eyebrows once she saw the lengthy hallway in front of her. She took off a sprint down the hallway and through the next set of double doors.

 

Cora wove through another hallway and then found herself at the edge of a pit. She looked up and found no signs of stairs or any ledges she was to climb on. She turned behind her and ran her hands along the wall in hopes of finding a lever or a secret door. She exhausted all her resources and turned back to the pit.

 

“Well, what the in the Oblivion am I supposed to-“ She was cut off when a rush of wind hit her back and she was thrown off the ledge.

 

She hit the ground on her back and her whole body barked in protest. On impact the air had left her lungs and she was left gasping for air. She slowly stood with her hands braced on her knees. Her whole body was protesting against the pain as she looked up from where she stood.

 

“Fair enough, Nocturnal.” She coughed into the empty space above her. She had an inkling that that was payback from cheating during her second trial. She turned around to where skeletal remains lay at her feet. A journal and a few gold pieces laid next to the bones. She quickly picked up the gold and flipped through the journal. Her eyes scanning over each sentence.

 

“This gives me nothing.” She said to the bones.

 

She took the Skeleton Key out from her pocket and observed it in her hand. She looked above her to see the pegs in the walls and then the trap door above her. She looked back to the key and then back to the ceiling. She held up the key to the light peeking in and the key thrummed in reply to it.

 

“The Skeleton Key can unlock and open anything…” She whispered.

 

The floor beneath her feet shifted and gave way once more. Cora was dropped through the floor where the skeleton remains still laid. She fell right through and landed on more solid ground. She held out her arms preparing for anymore pitfalls. Her eyes caught onto a shape in the center of the room, she straightened herself out and walked to it cautiously.

 

In the center was a small hole and she looked to the key in her hand. She realized she was staring at the Ebonmere. Quickly, she shoved the key back into the slot and waited as the key twisted and turned an the floor raised. She jumped back as the center platform raised and four pillars grew out of it. A purple light flashed in her eyes and crows began to fly out and around the mist.

 

Then, a figure began to descend out of the water. Cora’s eyes widened as the cloaked figure shaped into a woman and then turned into Nocturnal. Nocturnal uncrossed her arms and hovered above the epicenter of the Ebonmere. Cora was yanked forward by an invisible force and she was staring at the Queen of Merk.

 

“My, my. What do we have here?” Her voice cooed in her ears and echoed into her mind.

 

The crows on her arms squawked at Cora.

 

Nocturnal leaned forward and Cora’s whole body froze in fear. She hadn’t been this terrified in a long time. A grin spread across Nocturnal’s face as her purple eyes danced with excitement. She leaned back and looked to the birds on her arms.

 

“Oh, my pets. We have the sentinel that has slain Mercer! Karliah was most loyal to send her here.”

 

“I have returned the key to the Ebonmere, my priestess.” Cora said slowly, avoiding Nocturnal’s gaze.

 

“Indeed. It's been a number of years since I've set foot on your world. Or perhaps it's been moments. One tends to lose track. So... once again the Key has been stolen and a "champion" returns it to the Sepulcher. But, what’s this? I feel something different about you, sentinel.”

 

Cora’s blood turned to ice. She was beginning to pray to each individual Divine that Nocturnal wasn’t going to kill her…or do something equally as terrifying as that. She didn’t know what she was capable of and she wasn’t going to try and find out, either.

 

“I wonder what you have locked in that little mind of yours.” She nearly sang.

 

“I’m sure it’s of no interest to you, mistress.” Cora tried to keep her voice steady but failed.

 

The failure had Nocturnal tutting at her. “We shall see about that, won’t we?”

 

Then, she felt it. She felt fingers seeping into her skull, grabbing a tight hold of her mind and eating whatever secrets and memories that belonged to Cora. Cora kept her feet planted as Nocturnal raised an eyebrow. What did she find so interesting to raise an eyebrow? What about her did she find so intriguing? The fists at her sides tightened as the grip on her mind strengthened. Nocturnal clicked her tongue and placed a hand underneath her chin.

 

“Quite the memories you have unlocked, sentinel. Do you even know who you truly are, I wonder? Your slate is clean but when you delve further, you can see things that can alter someone. Fascinating.” Nocturnal’s voice seeped into her ears. Cora stood before her but she could almost feel like Nocturnal’s lips were at her ears while her voice dripped into her mind.

 

“Since you’ve bravely faced my trials and returned one of my belongings, tis only fair that I return the gesture. Shall I give you memories?” She asked with a malicious smile on her face.

 

Cora’s head shot up. The façade she had carefully created crumbled and she could see the true emotion on her face. Nocturnal was dangerous and making deals with her or any other thing from Oblivion was too risky. Even if she was granted her memory. The thought was tempting but it was too dangerous to take it.

 

“No, thank you, my mistress.” She said through clenched teeth.

 

Nocturnal’s booming laughter filled the inner sanctum. She felt flapping above her and then another caw from one of the raven’s perched on Nocturnal’s arm. An eerie chill ran up her spin as cold air breezed through her body, through her bones and sunk deep within her chest. Nocturnal leaned down, her eyes practically gleaming with entertainment. She was finding her perserverance joyful? Was she some sort of oddity that Nocturnal found amusing? What about her memories made her still linger in the mortal realm?

 

“I wish I could say you’re lying. But you only think and speak of the truth. You’re quite determined to find out who you are yourself, aren’t you?” She cooed, cold fingers running along Cora’s jaw.

 

She was. She had fragments of her memories from her time in the cavern with Mercer and that could be enough to go off on. She’s found more things with less clues and she was determined to do it herself. She had to do it herself. Cora had to unlock the horrors of her mind and find out who she really was before anything else.

 

She wanted to take the boon and regain her memory but this was something she had to do on her own. Nocturnal’s interest was unnerving enough but she was scared of the possibility of being indebted to her. She was already her own servant and slave. She didn’t need another weight to be added onto her shoulders. Even if that meant that she was to go on her mission by herself.

 

“I wish to pursue my own personal matters myself. I do not wish to burden you, my lady.” Cora whispered as the cold spread from her throat to her heart. She nearly winced at the icy feeling that spread around her ribs and heart.

 

“This is truly fascinating. You have no wonder of how you came to be in Skyrim? How you became skilled in combat? No begging me to restore it? All it would take is a snap of my fingers…” She trailed off with one brow raised.

 

Nocturnal was baiting her. But she wasn’t going to let her win. She wasn’t going to let her have the satisfaction of granting her own memories. A crow cawed on her shoulder but Nocturnal hushed it.

 

“I am not worthy enough for such a gift. My problems are mine and mine alone.”

 

Another bone chilling laugh escaped from her lips. Nocturnal raised a hand to Cora’s face, fingers running beneath her chin before grasping it. She yanked her face up to meet her nightshade colored eyes. Cora was paralyzed in place. Every muscle had been frozen in place and she was forced to stare into her eyes.

 

"I found your lust for vengeance against Mercer admirable. But with this memory loss of yours, I find it so much more entertaining. I implore you, sentinel, set forth and find your forgotten memories. It’ll be quite the display once you do. Don’t disappoint me.”

 

Nocturnal sighed, her face already shirking back into her look of monotony.

 

“I bid you to drink deeply from the Ebonmere, Nightingale. For this is where the Agent of Nocturnal is born. The Oath has been struck, the die has been cast and your fate awaits you in the Evergloam. Farewell, Nightingale. See to it the Key stays this time, won't you?”

 

Nocturnal released her grip on Cora’s jaw and twisted around while a swirl of ravens and mist encircled her figure. The ravens flew circles around Nocturnal and the mist sped up, eating away at her until she vanished into thin air. The remnant of Nocturnal was a raven’s caw and then it was only silence that came back into the sanctum. Cora released the breath she had been holding and began to give thanks to Talos.

 

She heard the wall behind her shift and she turned to see Karliah stepping into the inner sanctum. She was unscathed and still heavily dressed in her Nightingale armor. Cora looked above her from where she fell through into the sanctum. Then, she twisted her head back to Karliah and crinkled her nose.

 

“You cheated.”

 

“I have walked the Pilgrim’s Path before-“

 

“You cheated.” She repeated.

 

“I cheated.” Karliah admitted. "I'm glad you were able to bring the Key back safely. Nocturnal seemed quite pleased with your efforts." She said after a moment.

 

"Pleased? She sounded indifferent." Cora said, crossing her arms.

 

"I wouldn't take that to heart. It's her way. Think of her as a scolding mother continually pushing you harder to be successful; outwardly sounding angry but silently content. I assure you, had she been displeased with you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

 

"I never asked for a condescending mother. What's this about becoming an Agent of Nocturnal?"

 

"The circles at the base of the Ebonmere imbue you with powers befitting a Nightingale Agent. The crescent moon represents the Agent of Shadow, the half-moon for the Agent of Subterfuge and the full moon for the Agent of Strife."

 

“Which one do you have?”

 

“When I first became an agent of Nocturnal-“

 

“Karliah, if you go on another tangent I will have to reconsider friendship.” Cora warned.

 

“Subterfuge is like Malice-“ Karliah began to say but sighed in disapproval once Cora began trotting over to the Subterfuge pedestal.

 

Cora looked at the glowing liquid by her feet. She grasped a handful and brought it to her lips, letting it pour down her throat. The taste was familiar to deathbell—which nearly made her gag since that plant was insufferable in smell and in taste. Her veins began to burn and her blood hummed against it. Her hands faintly glowed dark purple and then vanished once she clenched her fists.

 

Cora smiled and stood, waving her fingers at her victoriously. Karliah gave her a look of skepticism as she practically danced back over to where she stood. Cora opened her mouth to make a smug remark but she lost her train of thought once Gallus’s spirit wandered into the Inner Sanctum.

 

“Karliah?”

 

Karliah froze in place for a quick second before she turned around to see Gallus. Her strict posture softened and her shoulders fell forward.

 

“Oh, even he can cheat from the trials? I’m calling Nocturnal out when I end up in the Evergloam.” Cora hissed to herself.

 

“Gallus!” She exclaimed. Whether it was in fear or surprise, Cora couldn’t tell the difference.

 

Gallus marched over, Cora knew he coud have just floated towards her. But that would make their conversation much more awkward and Cora would be ten times more likely to run away from him. She reached out to touch him but her arms fell through. Cora’s face faltered once she heard the pained wince come from Karliah.

 

“I feared I would never see you again. I was afraid you'd become like the others." She said softly.

 

“If it were not for the actions of this Nightingale, your fears would have come true. She honors us all.” He said turning to Cora and giving her a smile.

 

Karliah turned to look at Cora, they nodded to each other—a silent thank you. “Yes, she does.” She turned her head back to Gallus.

 

“What will you do now, my love?” Karliah’s voice nearly shook.

 

“Nocturnal calls me to the Evergloam. My contract has been fulfilled.”

 

“Will I ever see you again?"

 

Cora’s heart broke. She had been waiting years to avenge Gallus, years of poisonous thoughts and promises of revenge. Each sacrifice and each plan had been boiled down to this short, intimate moment between two star-crossed lovers. Cora turned and gave Karliah her space with Gallus.   


"When your debt to Nocturnal has been paid, we'll embrace once again." He said in a joyful voice.   


"Farewell, Gallus. Eyes open... walk with the shadows."  


"Goodbye, Karliah."

 

Cora felt a cold breeze caress her back and then only Karliah cleared her throat. Cora turned toward back to Karliah who was still facing the Ebonmere. She had her arms crossed around herself.

 

“Gallus's Oath has been paid. His actions have satisfied the terms. Now his spirit becomes one with the Evergloam... the realm of perpetual twilight and the cradle of shadow.” She said with a broken voice.

 

Cora nodded and patted her on the shoulder. She had grown tired of this place already, far too many sad experiences and too little entertainment on Cora’s behalf. She sighed loudly and looked back to Karliah before raising an eyebrow.

 

“Would you like to go drink ourselves into a stupor?”


	15. Futures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guild throws a party after their newly appointed Guildmaster returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two-ish chapters left!

The entire tavern was alive with people rejoicing. Different types of ales and whiskies were tossed around from hand to hand. A bard played nearby but was drowned out over the celebrating. Brynjolf stood at the bar near Vekel and Delvin--the three of them sharing one large bottle of brandy. It has been in Mercer's desk for years and yet there was no better time than now to drink it. Delvin threw a shot down his throat, his eyes pinned on Vex who spoke amicably to Garthar. 

 

"He's not the sharpest blade in the Smithy, Delvin." Brynjolf said with a smirk. 

 

He didn't have to elaborate either because a wicked grin cracked across his lips. He took another sip of his brandy before he tore his gaze away from Vex. 

 

"Don't you think I'm aware of that I'm ten times the man than the sack of potatoes over there?" He groaned. 

 

Brynjolf nearly winced. Delvin's fancy for Vex had gone on for years and yet the man still didn't have the guts to say anything about it to her. Sure, there had been times where it seemed like there was more beyond the untrained eye. Brynjolf knew better and that was only because he sat in the same boat not too long ago. 

 

"Do I sense a challenge?" Vekel said, filling up their cups. 

 

Brynjolf and Vekel shared a mischievous look. It was only Delvin that narrowed his eyes and glowered at the two of them. Just the whisper of a challenge or bet made the three of them mentally recount how much gold weighed in their coin purses. Brynjolf and Vekel were more than happy to gamble and play a fair game. However, as much as Delvin liked the allure of winning, the bastard loved keeping hold of his coins more. 

 

"I'm not betting anything," Delvin grumbled and sipped his drink. 

 

"You don't have to anything you don't want to, Delvin," Brynjolf said clapping him on the back. Delvin simply shrugged off his hand. 

 

"However, that makes me winning the bet more likely. I'm putting twenty gold down saying that she'll slap him." 

 

"What?" Delvin hissed. 

 

"I'm putting twenty gold down saying that Vex will drag him out of the cistern and into the Bee & Barb." Vekel said placing his own coin purse down. 

 

Vekel was always the soft-hearted out of the bunch. Ever since Tonilia had walked in and flamed the fire under his ass he'd been smitten with her. 

 

"You two are challenging me to go up there and kiss Vex while betting behind my back?" 

 

"Precisely." Brynjolf tipped his cup to Delvin. Brynjolf watched Delvin lean against the bar, lips pursed in thought. 

 

"And what do I get out of this? Other than getting my own balls ripped off and nailed to an archery dummy?" Delvin asked. 

 

"A night with Vex...if you've the balls for it.” Vekel winked. 

 

Delvin sat back and weighed his options. Brynjolf knew Delvin and he knew he'd do it but to bet against what Vex's reaction would be? That was the most dangerous of gambles yet. Delvin groaned, throwing the last contents of his drink into his mouth. He slammed the cup onto the bar as he moved away from it. Brynjolf and Vekel nearly tripped over one another, scrambling to get a better angle of Delvin as he nearly paraded over to Vex. 

 

"By the Eight, he's actually going to do it." Brynjolf breathed. 

 

Delvin marched right between Vex and Garthar, he grasped her waist and crushed his mouth to hers. Her eyes had nearly burst out of her head from surprise. Her hands laid slack at her sides, no signs of pushing him away yet. Garthar simply glowered and stepped away, retreating to Niruin's table. Delvin pulled away and then Vex's hand collided with his cheek. The slap didn't even falter the over-whelming amounts of noise in the tavern. Brynjolf gave a smirk to Vekel and held out his hand. 

 

"Ah. Wait a minute." Vekel said, pointing back to the couple. 

 

Vex was fuming with anger but she grasped Delvin by the front of his armor. Her mouth moved quickly making it hard to decipher the words she spoke. Then, she shoved Delvin away from her and then walked right out of the tavern. Brynjolf gave Vekel a look. Delvin wandered back over, his hand digging into his pockets before his tossed a small coin purse onto the table. 

 

"You were both right. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'll be spending the night at the Bee and Barb." 

 

Delvin nearly high-tailed it out of the cistern. Vekel and Brynjolf sat in complete surprise. They split the twenty gold and returned back to drinking. Brynjolf heard a round of groans and turned his head to the left. Blaise sat at the table with Rune, Vipir and Sapphire. Cards were each of their hands while Blaise pocketed the coins he had won off all of their hides. He grinned to himself. 

 

"That boy could charm the High Queen into making Ulfric Stormcloak the High King by just smiling her way." Vekel said shaking his head. 

 

"The boy's definitely gifted. I'll give him that." Brynjolf replied. 

 

"Delvin got the boy set up far down the road by the watchtower. Niruin offered to stay watch while the boy begged or hustled weary travelers out of their coin. He's no thief but he's damn good at acting." Vekel snorted. 

 

Brynjolf simply smiled at the comment. The boy was the perfect fit into the Guild and there wasn't a soul in the entire guild that would complain about him. Brynjolf sat back and enjoyed the rambunctiousness and joyfulness the room seemed to emanate. It hadn't been this alive in years. He hadn't seen smiles of heard laughs like this in a long while. It had been long overdue and welcomed it whole heartedly. 

 

Yet, from everyone celebrating the room lacked one person. He opened his eyes suddenly and scanned the room. Cora wasn't insight and he had barely seen her once since the festivities began. He clicked his tongue and excused himself away from the Flagon.

 

He had an idea where she would have gone. He moved through the hallway, through the opened bookcase and into the cistern. The place was nearly quiet excusing the constant waterfall on the sides. He turned his head and found Cora perched on her bed, holding her new Guildmaster armor.

 

Her welcoming ceremony had been a short and quick one. He had made his speech and it lacked any sort of squishy and tear-jerking words—not that he had any to give. Cora was beaming when she had been elected into Guildmaster. Karliah stood off in the distance, shaking her head in approval while she was handed her Master armor. Blaise had congratulated her with a hug and a new bow he had spent his “rightly earned’ coins on.

 

The boy showed more devotion to his mother than Brynjolf did. And he didn’t blame him for it, either.

 

Brynjolf smiled and leaned against her dressing board and watched as her fingers gently stroked the leather while her face was twisted in an unreadable expression. 

 

"I'm sure that the entire Guild is wondering where their new Guildmaster had disappeared to." He said. Cora's head whipped up towards him. Her grey eyes twinkling at the sight of him. She simply smiled and laid the armor beside her. 

 

"I just needed a moment of silence." 

 

Brynjolf took his seat beside her and took in the silence as well. It was only every few seconds where he's hear noise from the tavern fade in before disappearing all together. He noticed that she wrung her hands together there was something that was bothering her. He laid a hand over hers and she looked up.

 

“Lass, you’ve been acting strangely since you’ve returned from your dealing with Nocturnal. What’s going on?” He asked.

 

Cora sighed and stood rubbing a hand across the back of her neck. Her shoulders fell forward and she turned away from him. Brynjolf could feel fear beginning to trickle in. They had faced death less than a day ago and returned from it successful. Mercer was slain, the danger of the Guild had been averted and Cora had avenged Gallus and herself.

 

“When I was pinned underwater and trying to escape…I had a rush of memories come back to me.” She said slowly as if she was still trying to process it herself.

 

Brynjolf’s brow furrowed. “You remember who you were before?”

 

“No, I remembered only fragments. Pieces of a puzzle that I haven’t solved yet. I remember a village, there was screaming and fires and I had been thrown off something. Nocturnal even read my memories, she finds it most interesting.”

 

“The Mistress of Night found your memories…interesting?”

 

“She even beseeched me to go out and find out who I am.”

 

Brynjolf’s face faltered and he looked down at his hands. He could feel the knot beginning to form in his stomach. An omen that bad news was coming. He detested bad news and if anything it would seem that Cora was the harbinger of it.

 

“What are you saying, Cora?” He asked, his eyes still glued to his hands.

 

He was bracing for the news. Did this mean that her time with the Guild was over? That they were over? All that time he had wasted longing for her, if he had just told her sooner maybe he wouldn’t be facing the possibility of losing her forever. Or letting her walk back into the path of danger.

 

Cora dropped down in front of him and placed her hands within his. He looked up to see her smiling faintly at him but there was still that glimmer of sadness in her eyes. That glimmer went hand-in-hand with her determination. The glimmer meant more to her than he ever could and it nearly crushed him to think of that.

 

“I’m saying that, whoever I was before is a blur. It’s confusing and it’s rough to remember. Since then, you’ve been the one thing in my life that made sense.”

 

“You’re staying?” He asked.

 

Cora squeezed his hand and grinned. “As long as you’ll have me or the Guild decides to throw a mutiny. I’m yours.”

 

“I doubt that both of those outcomes would happen. But if they did, I would stand against it.”

 

“Even if there’s danger?”

 

“Even if so. But I guess we’re just going to have to find out in the future, if we have one with you in charge.” He winked.

 

She rolled her eyes. He stood up and pulled her into his chest. She craned her head back and looked up at him, her eyes were twinkling now. He placed a kiss on her forehead and she hummed happily in response.

 

“We’re thieves, Brynjolf. As long as we have a hand in someone’s coin purse we’ve always got a future.”

 

A future—together. It never sounded more tempting than it did right then.

 


	16. Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years have passed since Cora had taken over the role as Guild master. Her past comes back to haunt her amongst other things as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a wrap! Thank you to everyone that gave Kudos, comments and read the story! I still can't believe the overwhelming amounts of love this got. Thank you to everyone that read and loved the story! Stay tuned for future ones!

The newest recruit kept his feet moving as he wove through the busy streets of Riften. The recruit portrayed what was seen to be clumsy behavior whilst he bumped into people. However, only a thief’s trained eye could see how each of his hands stole trinkets and coins from the people he passed through. His pockets already jingled from money he had earned earlier. He avoided the familiar set of brown eyes that scanned him as he went through the crowd.

 

He left the center of the town and his sauntering walk turned into swift jogging. His brown armor weighed down on him as he cut through the back exit toward the covered Eastern exit. Through the overgrown grass he kept his hood down from the eyes of a guard that passed by. He bent over a grave and placed his hand over the stone. To the guard’s watchful gaze he was paying respects to an ancestor but to the recruit he was biding his time.

 

The guard’s whistling carried off and the recruit went straight into the stone tomb in front of him. He bent down and pressed the button that was emblazoned with a shadowmark. The tomb in front of him shook and slid backwards before disappearing into the wall. Before he took a step he turned around to see the same brown eyes he had seen earlier standing in the archway.

 

“Your mum is going to kill you, Blaise.” Brynjolf warned, his eyes hardening into agates.

 

Blaise—who was now fifteen—threw his head back and groaned. He pulled back his hood and matched Brynjolf’s withering stare. Blaise had grown to be angsty and reckless—nearly cloning his mother’s actions. He had grown into his armor and his light skin had changed to be tanned and his body was now toned from years of training within the Guild.

 

“What my mum doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right Brynjolf?” Blaise asked with a quirked brow. This time he had put on a softer look—the kind that would soften the aging man in front of him and that would help him stand on his side when dealing with his mother.

 

Brynjolf’s face didn’t falter and he shook a hand at the boy. “I’m not dealing with the wrath of your mother once she finds out you’ve been hanging around that Noblewoman’s daughter again…whilst ignoring your objective.”

 

Blaise sighed, “I reached the gold quota for this week—yesterday. Mum can lessen her grip on my leash.”

 

Brynjolf leaned off the archway and shrugged before going down the steps to the guild door. He opened the hatch before he dropped through. Blaise wasn’t that far behind him before he heard the hatch close and Blaise had dropped down behind him. Vipir sat on the table and saw Brynjolf’s grimace and casted Blaise a smirk.

 

“In trouble again, Blaise?”

 

“Did you reach the quota, Vipir?” Brynjolf asked turning his glare onto him.

 

Vipir scoffed and sharpened the blade in his hands. He muttered three words before looking back up to Brynjolf.

 

“Is that a no? Then, I highly suggest you go reach it before Cora throws you back on guard watch.” Brynjolf hissed.

 

Vipir’s smirk fell and he shot up from the table and went to the ladder. “I’ll go hit up one of the noble’s for their delayed monthly payment.” Vipir grumbled and went up the hatch.

 

Brynjolf sighed and shook his head in irritation before slapping a hand onto Blaise’s shoulders and led him toward the center of the cistern. Everyone in the cistern kept their eyes off of the two of them while they practiced their marksmanship or counted the coins from previous jobs. Not far off from the treasury doors Cora stood at her desk with her fingers tapping along the wood.

 

Her hair had been pinned back and her eyes were ice cold as they reached her small office. Sapphire stood next to her and her talking had grown into a whisper as the two reared the desk. She gave a look to Cora before turning on her heel and into the training center. Cora was already fuming with anger as they came closer.

 

“By Talo’s beard, Brynjolf did you already send a runner?” Blaise asked, his steps becoming slower.

 

“No, lad. That’s a mother intuition for you and you’re going to feel a mother’s wrath in a mere moment.” He whispered before they reached her desk.

 

Mother’s ‘Intuition’ tended to be Karliah these days. The thief did most of her contracts at the docks and Blaise hadn’t quite discovered that yet. Karliah and Cora was more joined at the hip than Brynjolf was. They each had a mutual respect and friendship that ran deeper than a relationship. It hit levels than Brynjolf would have been jealous of. But, Karliah did save Cora and vice versa towards the end of things.  


Brynjolf smiled at Cora—her face didn’t change but he saw her eyes soften. He looked back to Blaise and smirked at the boy.

 

“Tell me why you abandoned your post, again?” She asked, her voice was an icy chill that had both of them shivering.

 

Cora was adorned in her Guildmaster armor and she had her hood kept back. Her hair had been braided tightly to the back of her neck where it hung lowly past her shoulders. Her face could easily scare everyone in the cistern but only Blaise seemed to challenge her glare. He tossed three heavy coin purses full of septims onto her desk. Her eyes went from the sacks of septims back to Blaise. Brynjolf didn’t think it was possible but her look had gotten icier.

 

“That isn’t answering my question. You know that when Brynjolf is doing his scam that it’s the most dangerous to go pocket picking. Especially after I’ve been told you were at the docks with Lady Mira.”

 

Brynjolf raised an eyebrow and looked over at Blaise. His face hadn’t changed from the stern look he had plastered on his face. The boy should have been apologizing profusely by the way she was staring him down. He was just as stubborn as his mother and accepted her challenge of the stare down. Brynjolf was already in the middle of planning Blaise’s funeral when Cora leaned off her desk.

 

“Mum, I’ve out grown the beggar child scheme. I’m bringing in more coin than what’s expected of me-“

 

“What’s expected of you,” Cora said, cutting him off. Her tone was harsh and cold.

 

The tone alone had Blaise close his mouth and heed his mother’s words. He stood up straight as she came from around her desk with slow, lithe steps. It was the kind of walk that made anyone begin to run for the hills. Brynjolf would have left by now if it weren’t for the display of sheer fear Blaise was emanating.

“—is that you remain at your post and that you heed your objective. You work like everyone else here therefore you will be treated the same. If I find out that you’ve abandoned your post one more time I am assigning you to contract work with Delvin for a full fortnight, understand me, boy?”

 

Blaise nodded and swiftly went back out toward the Flagon. Cora was already anticipating that he was going to go complain to Vex—the woman did have a bigger soft spot for the boy than did Delvin. The two of them had become a second pair of parents since she assumed her role as Guildmaster. Cora watched him leave and tutted to herself before she looked at Brynjolf.

 

“We’re doing inventory of the treasury. Come with me, now.” She ordered.

 

Brynjolf followed his order and followed her to the golden doors. She was still fuming with anger as she grasped her paper and quill from the desk next to her and unlocked the first side of her door. Brynjolf switched the latch and he watched as she pushed through the doors into the room. He followed behind and let the doors close behind them.

 

In the three years under Cora’s leadership the treasury was overflowing with coin and gems. Cora rarely did inventory of the place but made a habit to check every three weeks for any inconsistencies with her contracts or some of their fences complained about poor payment.

 

“This is your doing.” She said whilst marking down something on her paper.

 

“Mine?”

 

“If you hadn’t brought Blaise with you to Lady Therese’s house to do that scam Blaise wouldn’t have become smitten with her DAUGHTER.”

 

Brynjolf was now the one that tutted at Cora. He crossed his hands behind his back and went behind her as she checked the weight of each satchel from the scale on the table. She was avoiding his gaze because it was all too easy to make her crumble with just his gaze alone.

 

He stepped up and placed his hands on her sides. Cora’s body stiffened at his touch but only relaxed once his thumbs began to stroke circles around her hips. He watched as her glare faltered and her face began to turn red with a blush.

 

“He follows after his mum’s footsteps. Always falling for the wrong types of people, it was just a matter of time before someone struck his fancy.” He placed a kiss on her neck, inhaling the scent of lavender that hung in her hair.

 

He’d been so caught up in his work that he hadn’t spent as much time with Cora as he usually did. They’d taken over Mercer’s old place once the wind of his death had died down. It had been Brynjolf’s suggestion since he was desperate to not let her go all the way back to Whiterun.

 

Moving into Riftweald had been bigger than Honeyside—which as a gift from Maven to keep coin flowing through the Guild and right into her pockets as well. Brynjolf had been quick to move in with her since his days of sleeping inside the Guild had been over once his relationship with Cora solidified. The last four years had been good to them since then up until Blaise’s angst years had come in.

 

“Did you go to the hot spring last night?” He growled into her neck.

 

When was the last time he’d gone with her to the hot spring? When was the last time he’d actually been able to see her naked fully? They’d been so infuriatingly busy with the Guild at its height that he hadn’t been taking advantage of their free time like he should have. He turned his head back to the closed door that separated them from the cistern. A smirk cracked across his face.

 

“Yes and I bathed sinfully as you slept.” Cora teased.

 

He groaned into her neck at the mental image. Cora leaned her head on his shoulders while he lips left a trail along her neck and jawline. Cora braced her hands on the table and her fingers dug into the wood. Brynjolf felt her hips bend back to meet his and it nearly took all of his self-control to not roll his eyes. Vixen. She was a bloody vixen that was capable of turning any man to ash.

 

“Brynjolf, I know what you’re trying to do.” Cora gasped as Brynjolf’s hands played with the buttons of her armor.

 

“What’s that, lass?” He murmured into her skin while his other hand played with the draw string of her leathers.

 

“You’re being coy, you snake.”

 

Brynjolf snuck his hand underneath her leathers and Cora froze against the heat of his hand. He could feel her quickened heart beat against his lips. If she was going to be left now—it would be in wanting and that was one thing she hated.

“You’re awful.”

 

“I can’t help it, lass. I missed a perfect opportunity to catch you naked and have my filthy, thieving ways with you at the same time.”

 

_Hook_

 

Cora gasped once his hand had dove between her legs. He could see her fingernails digging into the desk now and a silent moan escaped her lips. Brynjolf nearly growled feeling how she was already wet for him. He had only been touching her for a few minutes and yet he had her in wanting. His other hand popped open the last button to her armor and he seized the opportunity to go up her tunic.

 

“Horrible. Completely horrible.” She nearly moaned.

 

_Line_

 

If his idea wasn’t going to work he was going to have more than one problem to take care of if they separated from each other. He wanted to at least see how far he could get before Cora was forced to shut this down. He straining against his own leathers and Cora would have at least felt it by now, especially when her ass was pressed up right against his groin.

 

 

He stopped his hands and Cora made a choked whimper at the absence. He had her eating out of his hand and by Nocturnal, he was going to get exactly what he wanted. He always did have a fantasy of having his way with Cora surrounded by tons and tons of money but it was just a fantasy. Until now.

 

“I can stop-“

 

“Don’t.” Cora demanded.

_Sinker_

He didn’t need any more permission before his hand retreated from the center of her thighs where it slid up to her hips and began to roll down his leathers. Shadows guide him, he couldn’t believe that his idea actually worked. He was as giddy as a child inside a candy store. Cora slid the leathers off her hips and stepped out of them and Brynjolf followed in pursuit.

 

He dropped his pants and his cock sprung free. Cora’s slid down to his groin and she gave him a wink before she bent herself over the desk. Brynjolf gave a praise to any Divine willing to listen before he approached her from behind. She was ready for him and he slid in almost too easily. Cora’s back arched one he bottomed out. He laid a trail of kissing down her spine as he kept his thrusts slow and deep.

 

He held onto her hips tightly as he continued to keep his pace steady. His fingers dug into her skin to tightly that she was going to have bruises tomorrow. There was no issue since they’d be the only two people to see the bruises and it’d be a nice reminder for later on.

 

Cora gripped onto the end of the table and spread her legs and his pace stuttered. Brynjolf continued his thrusts but shook his head to himself. Damn woman was trying to drive him crazy—and succeeding. He sped up his thrusts and hitting the spot that had her hips backing up against his. He’d taken the time to memorize every part of her that made her squeal, or in this case, bend to his will.

 

“Brynjolf.” Cora hissed warningly.

 

There had been lesser times that they’d had sex inside the Guild but it was either when nearly everyone was running objectives for Cora or the dead of night. That was right before they’d moved into Riftweald and where the thrill of being caught still ran high. He hit the spot that had her throw her head back and he smiled to himself. He was priding himself too much in this.

 

Cora leaned herself up off the table and he caught hold of her breasts. His mouth found hers and he hit deep within her. Cora moaned into his mouth and chills ran down his spine. She moved away from his body, detaching herself from him. Cora turned around and leaned herself on the table and brought Brynjolf back between her legs.

 

He slid back into her and was greeted by her walls clamping back around him. Brynjolf continued his thrusts and watched as Cora’s eyes closed in euphoria. The desk wobbled underneath them and he kept his thrusts up. His climax was reaching the breaking point and Cora wasn’t far behind. Cora hips arched and his thrust met with her hips.

 

He reared back before slamming right back into her. The thrust had both of them moaning loudly. Cora’s back bowed off the table and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her hand gripped onto his chest hair as his hand covered over hers as he gritted his teeth. He prayed that no one was close enough to hear them but the doors were thick enough to muffle some of their love-making. At least he hoped.

 

Suddenly, Cora’s walls seized and clamped around his cock. Her climax crashed onto Cora and he wasn’t far behind her before he started falling into his orgasm. He clenched his teeth before spilling himself inside of her. Cora kept her leg wrapped around his hips for a few moments as they both continued to breathe through the high of their orgasms.

 

Brynjolf leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips and he felt her smile against his mouth. He slid out of her before handing her smallclothes and some of her armor that he’d yanked of in their haste. He shrugged his pants over his hips and watched as Cora slid her pants up her long legs.

 

“I’ll start telling you when I’m going to the hot spring to avoid having sex in here.” Cora said while tying her pants at her hips. Brynjolf came back over and hugged her from behind, pressing a tender kiss to her neck.

 

“Where’s the fun in that?” He laughed.

 

“You’re insufferable and I know what you’re up to.”

 

“And what’s that?” He asked with a grin.

 

Cora turned and gave him a look. Her cheeks were flushed but her eyes were clearer than he’d ever seen them. Cora poked him in the chest and brought her finger back up to his face. He held up his hands in surrender.

 

“Don’t think I don’t know your plan to get me pregnant, Bryn.” She hissed.

 

His face nearly paled. He was right when Cora did have a wicked case of a mother’s tuition. He’d barely told that plan to anyone—not even Blaise. He’d only talked to Delvin twice about it and that was only when Delvin asked about how it was going along. That man always loved the juicy details.

 

But having a child was the next best thing to marriage. Unfortunately, both of them cringed at the idea of being inside of a temple and having another priest talk about the ‘binds of love’. They’d already been bound to Daedric prince and they didn’t need metal around their fingers to prove such trivial things. The idea of having a child was a lot more alluring than marriage…in both of their opinions.

 

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He lied.

 

Cora placed her hands on her hips and stared him down. “You’re a bastard.” She said.

 

The plan had been only going on for three months and so far she’d bled at the end of every month. They were reaching the end of the third month and he was trying harder than ever. He hadn’t originally wanted a child but then the idea became more and more intriguing. They had Blaise and Brynjolf was already a father figure to the boy. His need to have another was stronger than Cora’s and it might not be possible. He wanted Cora to be pregnant with a child— _his child_ , more than anything.

“You didn’t honestly believe that I wasn’t going to catch on sooner or later?” Cora asked.

 

“I just assumed that you were thinking I was being more sexual since we’ve had the house to ourselves more often.”

 

That wasn’t a lie. He honestly believed that he’d done a better job at concealing it since no one else wanted to hear the details of their relationship, other than Delvin, of course. He sighed and adjusted his gauntlets on his arms.

 

“How did you even find out about it, lass?” He asked.

 

Cora’s eyebrows raised and she lifted a finger to tap the side of her temple. “Mother’s intuition.”

 

He was going to kill Karliah. Those two were in it for the long haul and did they ever love to drink and gossip. He was going to use kill her and then be killed by Cora. It wasn’t like she didn’t want a child but the idea of not being able to have one consumed her. After her journeys with being Dragonborn and dealing with Mercer left her in doubt about pregnancy. Cora just didn’t want the heart ache of not being able to have a child.

 

She sighed and turned back to the desk to pick up the papers Brynjolf had scattered in their haste to undress one another. He stood behind her, debating on whether he should leave now and be able to kill Karliah by sunset or at least run her off for a few days—that’s if he was successful in brawling against her.

 

“I admire your tenacity for trying so hard, Bryn. But you know that it might not be possible with me.”

 

“That’s why we keep at it, lass. I’ve had too many near death experiences and too little moments to cherish. I imagine to have a moment spending with a child of our blood.”

 

Cora sighed and turned her head before crossing her arms around herself. He could feel that there was other factors weighing in to this decision. That there was something other than her fear that pulled at her. Brynjolf came up to her and laid a hand on her arm and she looked at him.

 

“What’s really bothering you, lass?”

 

Cora looked down to her feet. “What if I do become pregnant…will my blood burden our future child as the Dragonborn?”

 

His shoulders fell forward and his face faltered. So, it was a matter of if their child of being dragon born. Would they heed the calling when their time had come, too? Were they to go off and save Tamriel from the clutches of another threat upon the world? It wasn’t a matter of whether they were dragon born but it was a matter of letting them go to pursue such things.

 

He opened his mouth to give her a consultation, a couple of soothing words but he was cut short when the ground quaked beneath their feet. Cora’s whole body seized and her eye froze on the door. Her brow furrowed and she moved away from him. Another quake resonated through the floor and Cora was already opening the treasury doors.

 

“Cora?” Brynjolf asked before going after her. The doors locked behind them as they exited but Cora followed as the tremors continued.

 

Everyone in the cistern had paused their duties to share bewildered looks as the quakes ensued. The quakes weren’t strong but it had enough strength to throw Brynjolf off balance as he chased after Cora. Blaise had come out of the Flagon and was already flanking him as they followed Cora out of the cistern.

 

“Do you hear that?” She asked twisting her head at him.

 

Brynjolf and Blaise looked at each other and shook their heads. She muttered something to herself before opening the hatch and going out of the guild’s hideaway. They continued to pursue her as she went outside. Clouds had collected and the skies swirled with dark hues. The wind slammed into Blaise and Brynjolf where Cora turned her head to the left.

 

A shout echoed from the sky and the clouds shifted slightly. The shout sent a wave of winds rolling down the mountains and rolled right into the village. The wind blew in their faces and Cora looked up to the mountains. High Hrothgar. The shouts were coming from High Hrothgar. Cora turned her head back as another shout rippled through the skies.

 

“It’s a summoning.” She said softly.

 

Fear struck through Brynjolf like lightning. The Grey-Beards had finally used the summoning shout after all. Did something truly threaten them to call the Dragonborn to their aid? Brynjolf heard movement to his right and Karliah was already jogging toward them.

 

“Cora, I take it you’ve heard the shouts.” Karliah said quietly before moving next to her.

 

“Karliah, this isn’t like the ones before. This one is a force that is pulling me to them. Whatever is going on up there…it isn’t good.” She said slowly.

 

“Go, then. I shall take over as the Guildmaster until you’ve returned.” They shared another look at each other before Cora turned to Blaise and Brynjolf.

 

“You couldn’t hold it off forever, ma. Go save the world again. I’ve got some people that’ll take care of me.” Blaise said before nudging Brynjolf in the arm.

 

Was Brynjolf the only man that was seeing the possible dangers of this? Was he the only one that was beginning to worry that this might be the time that she doesn’t return to him? Cora smiled and kissed Blaise on the forehead and turned to Brynjolf.

 

“No.” He said immediately.

 

“Bryn, I can’t hold this off anymore. That shout was a summoning…not an invitation. I have to go.”

 

“I can’t just let you go and get yourself killed!” He argued.

 

Wind howled in his ears and face while rain began to trickle from the skies. The Grey-Beards were really beginning to piss him off. He was going to make sure to put them down as a thieving place to go to. But he saw the look in her eyes. It was the same look she had when she was given the task to kill Mercer and by Nocturnal’s shadow, she was going to do it with or without approval.

 

“But I have to, don’t I? By the Eight, I have to send you back into the throes of danger.” He said sadly.

 

She had avoided death twice and now death was coming back to finalize the deal this time. He’d made a promise to himself to never let her go again and damn it all, he was going to keep to that promise. He turned to Blaise and patted the boy on the shoulder before turning back to Cora.

 

“If you’re going then I am too.”

 

“What?” All three of them asked.

 

“I made the promise to myself that I would never leave you again and I’m keeping to that promise. So, if you’re going to High Hrothgar then so am I.”

 

“Brynjolf, you can’t be-“ Cora started but he held up a hand up to her.

 

“If you think I’m just going to willingly send you out into danger then you don’t know me at all. I’m not letting the future mother of my future child die…at least not without me present.”

 

“Thanks for that disgustingly sad sentiment, Brynjolf.” Blaise groaned.

 

Cora’s face hardened and she turned to Karliah for help. Karliah simply shrugged, it seemed that the dark elf knew when he was putting up a fight and when to not get between them. Cora turned her gaze back onto him. Usually, that gaze would make him reconsider but not this time. This time he wasn’t going to let it get to him.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Fine?”

 

“Fine.”

 

They stared each other down and for the first time in a long time, Brynjolf felt like he was back in the past. Five years ago when Cora had first joined up and the two bickered over everything even if it was just their way of flirting. She was damn stubborn but he was as well. Things hadn’t changed after all. They both were the same stubborn twosome that refused to let the other do what they pleased.

 

“If we’re doing this then we have to be careful-“Cora started.

 

Brynjolf reached out and caught her hand. She looked up at him and he patted her hand.

 

“We’re thieves, remember? As long as we have a hand in someone’s pockets and Nocturnal’s blessing we’ll be fine.”

 

Cora smiled at his words. She'd said the same thing to him all those years ago to comfort him and now it comforted her. She squeezed his hand. His words were comforting and with him at her side there was no such thing as immediate danger. Not when they’ve faced the worst of danger. Together, they’d follow this through and restore peace…again.

 

Together.

 

 

 


End file.
